


A Robot  Named Jingle

by JingleJubilee07



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: Crossover, F/M, General fiction, Literature, fan fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-04-09 20:57:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4363928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JingleJubilee07/pseuds/JingleJubilee07
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jingle Jubilee is a bronze robot built in 769 B.C by an Etrurian Metallurgist. Join her on her journey through history as she makes new friends and figures out who she is and where she truly belongs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a backstory I wrote for my fanbot Jingle Jubilee. Hope ya like it!

Jingle opened her eyes. The first thing her photoreceptors focused on was the eaved roof that was made of blocks of stone. She took note of her surroundings, which were a small bed of furs, and the walls. She sat up on the wooden table, and her eyes examined the walls more closely. She found that they were made of wood frames and clay plastering, while also being frescoed with geometric patterns and moulded terracotta. Her eyes locked onto a mirror that was nearby, and she stood up before walking over.

She was an automaton.

Her name was Jingle Jubilee. She was a simple metal bronze skeletal frame, with amber photoreceptors and dark brown wiry hair. She looked down at her hands, and found some gears and coils operating her movements. She looked at her torso, which was a fairly wide rectangular shape. She opened it to see a metal orb that glowed with blue energy.

Suddenly, she felt the presence of someone walking in. She turned, and found a man. He was fairly tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a tebanna, a long cloak that was draped over the shoulder and then wrapped around the torso under the right arm. It was decorated with a clavi, an amber stripe of color.

Then he spoke.

"Hello there. How are you feeling, Pjesmica?" he asked. His voice was

She opened her mouth, and suddenly spoke, surprising herself.

"I am alright" she said. She looked at him, and then back toward the mirror.

"Where am I? Who are you? What's going on?" she asked.

"Please, calm down. My name is Aranthur and I am your creator. I am an inventor. Now if you'll allow me, I will explain everything that is going on, and I will answer any questions you have" he said. She nodded, and with small steps, proceeded to make her way toward him. As they began to walk, he began to explain.

          ---------

He was part of the Etruscans. A civilization of ancient Villanovans that resided in the heart of ancient Italy. They weren't unlike other civilizations, except that they also had a group of people among their midsts, a group who worked with metals and creating artwork out of them.

His name was Aranthur Larentia. He was one of these so-called Metallurgists, one who worked with metal. However, he had been wanting to see if he could in fact do more than just sculpture and works of art. He wanted to see whether or not he could create life.  Or even simulate one that had existed. He once had a daughter named Pjesmica, but she and his wife had died in the tsunami that had hit their people. He had then dedicated all his life to the attempt at creating a metal creature of his own invention and with its own self-sustaining power source. Then perhaps he wouldn't be alone, and maybe have his daughter once again. But alas, it didn't work. Any power source he tried would have to be replaced again and again. So he eventually gave up, packing the metal framework not unlike that of a human in his workplace.

He had been sailing on the Mediterranean sea when he came across a small light. He sailed near it, and the light dimmed before it dropped into the ocean. He brought it aboard, and he realize that it was a small metal orb with some sort of blue liquid-type material inside of it. He placed the orb inside of a leather pouch he had slung over his shoulder, and sat down.

'Blue…Matter…'. These words suddenly appeared in his mind, an he was quite puzzled as to why. Then, the image of his unfinished automaton appeared in his mind, and he got the feeling he should return. Always one to follow his instincts, Aranthur sailed home as fast as the wind could carry his boat. Upon reaching land, he immediately made his way to his workshop, and placed his automaton on the metal table.

Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out the orb, and was surprised to discover that it was glowing.

"Pjesmica…could this be a sign from you and your mother?" he asked. He opened the bot's chest cavity, and as he neared the orb to the metal, it suddenly jumped from his hands and properly placed itself in the correct spot, where a human heart should be. A jolt surges thought the metal frame, and a spark of hope ignited in his chest. He stared, hoping to see some movement. He waited for quite some time before he finally surrendered, hope leaving his eyes.

"I suppose even a gift from the gods can't help me now" he said. As if to defy his very words, there was a small thrumming noise that he began to hear. It got louder and louder, and he realized that it was coming from his machine.

"Pjesmica?" he asked, hope in his voice.

"I'll let her awaken when she deems it fit" he said, and left the room. He turned back real quick, and as his eyes noticed the slight twitching of her fingertips, he smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

"So…is that my story? That's why you created me? To have your daughter again?" she asked.

"At first. But I realized that no matter what I do, I can never bring her back again. You are you own person, and even though you carry her name, you will always be who and what you are. My second daughter, and a part of my family" he said, smiling. She smiled back, and hugged him.

"Thank you, Aranthur. Father" she said. He smiled.

"My kći. My daughter" he said.

\-------

'ROMULUS…NO, LEAVE REMUS ALONE!'

'HELP ME!'

'STAY OUT OF MY WAY, HARBINGER'

Jingle powered up with a start. What was that about? She heard her voice, but she had also heard the voices of two others. What did it mean? Was it fortelling something of the future?

She shook her head and pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She then proceeded to move her joints around to prevent them from rusting shut. As she walked outside, she realized that it was early morning, since the sun was barely starting to peak over the mountains and onto their remote cliffside home. It was some time before she felt the presence of Aranthur next to her.

"Something on your mind?" he asked.

"What's going to happen when you're gone?" she whispered.

"Listen, kći. One day, I will cease to be, and you will continue to live on. I will no longer be here to guide you, but I will make sure that there are others who will watch over you and guide you" he said.

"You mean, there are others like you that are still alive?" she asked.

"Yes. I have some relatives, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and the like. There's also the entire village here in Cerveteri" he said.

"More people? Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, shocked.

"Because I may have forgotten to mention it?" he said, chuckling at his mistake.

"Well what are we waiting for? Can we go meet them?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know…" he said. She stared at him with puppy-dog eyes, and he grimaced before he sighed.

"Fine" he said.

"Yay!" she yelled, giggling.

"Let's just go already" he said. She nodded, and she took his hand as they began to walk toward the village.

••••••••

"Aranthur, I have a question" she said.

"What is it?".

"You call me Pjesmica. What does it mean?" she asked.

"In English, it means 'Jingle'".

"So my name is Jingle?".

"Yes".

"Oh, okay. That makes sense, because everytime I would refer to myself, I always knew it was Jingle. But isn't it Pjesmica?".

"They're the same thing. Only that one is Croatian, and the other is English".

"Really?".

"…remind me to add a translator into your code".

"Okay!".

Jingle and Aranthur were currently at the outskirts of the village.

"Why'd we stop?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Because, I'm not sure if the whole village is alright with you. You know, because you're a robot and…not human" he said.

"Well yeah, but I'm your daughter, right? So in a way, I am human, aren't I?" she asked. He paused and scratched his chin.

"Hmm. Maybe. But let's just be safe than sorry" he said. She nodded, and he led the way toward his brother's house.

His brother lived in a small cottage a small distance from the town. The two walked over to the gate of his home, and he stopped them. He brought out a brown piece of fabric and placed it over her, bringing the cowl over her head to hide everything about her in the shadows.

"Listen, dear one. No matter what, do not remove your cloak before I say so. I need time to get them used to the idea of you before actually showing them your true self. I only want them to get used to your beauty before actually witnessing it" he said. She nodded, and he smiled at her before the two of them made their way through the gate and to the door.

Knock knock. The sound of knuckles hitting wood resonated into the audio input of Jingle and the ears of Aranthur. Footsteps were heard, and then the wooden door opened to reveal a man not unlike Aranthur.

"Aranthur? What are you doing here?" the man asked. His voice was a bit deeper than Jingle's father, if only by a little.

"I'm here on an inportant notice. And it's good to see you again, Velthur" Aranthur said, holding out his arm. The man now known as Velthur looked at his brother's outstretched arm, and took a moment before clasping his hand around his brother's forearm as Aranthur did the same.

"Who is your companion?" Velthur asked.

"All in due time, brother. For now, let us enter, and then all shall be explained in good time" he said. Velthur nodded and moved aside to give Aranthur and this friend of his entrance into his home.

The interior of his house was fairly large, with a large row of small tables, and some reclining couches. There was a large hallway with various doors made of large branches and pieces of wood.

"Come, sit. Now, what is it importance notice you spoke of?" Velthur asked. Aranthur cleared his throat, and from out of the shadows of his companion's coat emerged two metal arms. These arms extended up and grabbed onto the corners of the cowl. As the cowl was pushed back, Velthur's eyes widened. From out of the shadows appeared two amber-glowing eyes, and suddenly his brother's unknown companion suddenly gained an identity. An automaton.


	3. Chapter 3

"Aranthur…what have you done?" Velthur asked, standing up.

"Now brother, here me out. Velthur, this is Pjesmica. She likes to go by Jingle. Say hi to her. Please" he said. Velthur looked from Jingle to Aranthur and then back at Jingle.

"Um, hello there" he said, holding out his arm. Jingle looked at his arm and the gears in her arm whirled, moving her arm to meet his. Her vents released steam as her fingers slowly closed in around his forearm. He did the same, and she looked up at Aranthur and a grin broke out on her face. He smiled back and gave a small nod. She turned back to Velthur and grinned at him, her smile literally reaching out to her ears. As she did, Velthur could've sworn he saw a gleam of happiness in her optics.

"Hi there! My name is Jingle, and it's a pleasure to meet you!" she said, practically jumping for joy.

"She sure is a happy one" he chuckled. Aranthur walked over and placed a hand on Velthur's shoulder.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" he asked.

"She's quite the spectacle" he replied.

"I can also do this!" Jingle broke in, releasing Velthur's arm. She brought her hand up, and her eyebrows bent down to convey her level of concentration. Her wrist and shoulder joints moved in unison with her hand and arm to result in her waving at them. As the function set in, her face broke out into a smile and she giggled.

"I did it! Father, I did it!". Velthur turned to Aranthur.

"Can I speak to you in private?" he asked. He took him by the arm and led him outside.

"She just called you father!" he said.

"So?"

"Why!?"

"She is like a child, and she needs someone to guide her. Who better than me? She happened to grow on me, and she became like my daughter. I'm her inventor, so it's only logical that she call me father" he explained.

"Why not sir, or master, or your actual name!?"

"Because I will not have her grow up as merely an invention. I will not have her be raised in an environment where she is nothing but a tool. I want her to be sentient, and I want her to experience life the way we do".

"But Aranthur…" Velthur trailed off.

"Velthur. Trust me. If you only gave her a chance, she might grow on you as well" he said. Velthur sighed, and the two of them headed into the house.

"Quick question, brother. Although you explained to me that the Blue Matter core helped awaken her, surely she must have some ther power source" he said.

"Ah, yes. She runs on steam. Seeing as how there's an endless amount of water near us, it's an unlimited power source for her" he explained. Velthur nodded.

They found Jingle sitting on the reclining couch, playing with the hem of her cloak.

"Dear one, would you like to meet Velthur's wife and children?" Aranthur asked. She turned to look at Velthur, a hopeful expression on her face.

"Would it…would it be alright?" she asked him. Velthur looked into her glowing eyes. He instantly saw how eager she was. Thanks to years of dealing with his own children, he realized how much like a child she was, and he realized that Aranthur was right. He began to feel a sort of soft spot in his heart, and came to the realization that it was because of her. He took a step toward her, and took her hand.

"Would you like to?" he asked. She smiled.

"Oh yes, I would! How many children do you have? What at their names? Are they boys or girls? What is your wife's name? Is she pretty? Do you think they'll like me? What if they don't? What if-" she stammered, but was cut off by Velthur placing a finger on her lips.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll love you. And for all of your other questions, they can answer. Just give me a minute to call them" he said. He let go of her, and proceede to walk down the hallway. Aranthur then walked over to her.

"Don't worry. Just be yourself. In a way, they're just as much your family as they are mine. For you are my daughter, and you are part of this family now" he said, pressing his lips against her forehead. She closed her eyes, and smiled.

Footsteps were heard as Velthur returned. This time, however, he was not alone. With him were three others. A woman and two children, a boy and a girl.

The woman was a fair-skinned brunette with hazel eyes. She was wearing a deep blue dress-like garment, with gold accents. The girl was similar in looks to the mother, the only difference in her garments being a deep green replacing the blue. The boy appeared to be older than the girl by some years, a light cream tebbana with red accents near the hem.

The three of them stopped when they saw Jingle.

"This is my wife, Larcia, my 13 year-old daughter Vitellia, and my 17 year-old son Ranazu. Everyone, this is Jingle, Aranthur's daughter" he said.

"Hello there" Larcia said, curtseying to her. Jingle curtsied back, and then she smiled at the two children.

"Hi. My name's Jingle" she said, waving. Velthur nodded at them, and they smiled back.

"Children, would you like to go outside?" Velthur asked. They nodded, and Aranthur placed his hand on Jingle's shoulder.

"Dear one, would you like to go outside with them?" he asked.

"I…I wouldn't want to burden anyone…" she trailed off, tapping her fingers together.

"Come on, Jingle! It won't be a problem!…will it, mother?" Vitellia asked. Larcia laughed.

"No, not with us. Run along, dearies" she smiled. Vitellia grabbed Jingle's hand and led her outside, Ranazu closing the door behind them. That left Larcia, Velthur and Aranthur the only ones inside.

"So, what do you think of her?" Aranthur asked, the three of them sitting down.

"She's very human-like, with a child-like behavior" she said.

"Yes yes, but what do you think of her?" he asked. Larcia looked out the window and saw Jingle, who was smiling.

"I like her".

••••••••••

"So, Jingle, what day were you uh…born?" Vitellia asked.

"Oh, um…November 7, according to Aranthur".

"So you've only been activated for about 3 days, then?" Ranazu asked.

"Don't worry if anything Ranazu says sounds mean or anything. He's been studying to become a Metallurgist like father and Uncle Aranthur" Vitellia said.

"I've always wanted to meet other children. I always thought the only person I would ever meet was Father" she said.

"Machines shouldn't call their creators 'father'. It just simply isn't done" he said.

"Ranazu, what is with you?" Vitellia asked.

"She's not real like you and I. She isn't sentient like humans, because she isn't one, and she never will be! She's just a machine! Treat her as such!" he said, and stormed off. Jingle stared at his retreating form and sunk down to the ground, clutching her knees to her chest. Vitellia sat next to her and put her arm around her.

"He doesn't mean it. He's wrong" she said. As Vitellia said this, Aranthur, Velthur and Larcia exited the house.

"Jingle…dear one, whatever is the matter?" Aranthur asked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all" she said.

"Darling, surely there's something t-" Larcia was saying, but was cut off by Jingle, who stood up abruptly.

"I said there's nothing!…I just…I just need to be alone…" she said. Vitellia placed a reassuring hand on Jingle's shoulder, and all of the humans retreated into the house.

Once they were gone, she decided to head down the river a few miles away. Once she got there, she sat on the small riverbend and swung her legs over the edge. She opened her chassis and focused upon her core. She tapped the metal orb and sighed before closing her chassis again. She picked up a nearby rock and twirled it around in her fingers.

"Ranazu is right. I'm not human" she said. Her hold on the rock tightened, and with almost no effort it was crushed into powder.

"Not human?" a curious voice asked. Jingle turned to see a young man, with dark hair and eyes so clear they were almost grey and not the blue they were.

"What is your name? What are you doing out here all by yourself?" the man asked.

"My name is Jingle, and I just needed some time alone. I ask you the same" she asked.

"My name is Remus. My brother and I were playing a game, but I'm pretty sure he got himself lost. My brother's name is-" he said.

"Romulus" she finished. He stared at her.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"I just did" she said.

"Are you a harbinger of some sort?" he asked.

"Harbinger?" she asked.

"Yes, a type of forerunner of something, or someone or something who signals the approach of something else" he explained.

"I suppose you could say that" she said, recalling her dream of pain and panic.

"Would you help me look for my brother? After all, two is better than one" he said. She stood still, and then slowly nodded.

"Very well. But as soon as we find him, I must go" she said. He nodded.

"Fair enough". Jingle and Remus set off into the forest behind them. After what seemed like hours of walking, the two found a man crouched over some sort of tablet.

"Romulus?" Remus called out. The man turned, and Jingle noticed that he was nearly identical to Remus the only difference being his eyes, which were a dark toffee color.

"Remus. Who is this?" he asked, standing up.

"This is Jingle, the Harbinger" he said.

"A Harbinger? Interesting company you keep" he said.

"Listen, Remus, I have helpe md you find your brother, and so now I must take my leave. Goodbye" she said. She turned to leave, but Romulus stopped her.

"Harbinger, don't leave. It's been so long since we've had company other than the fools that call themselves our parents" he said.

"Romulus, please. Don't speak that way of mother and father" Remus said, chiding his brother.

"I'll come visit you another time, but I must be going home now" she insisted.

"Look what you did. Now she's leaving, and it's all your fault" Romulus said, pushing Remus.

"Romulus…no, leave Remus alone!" Jingle yelled.

"Stay out of my way, Harbinger!" Romulus yelled. He shoved Remus, and suddenly Remus lost his footing before falling. He slipped on some mud, and he was sent down into the brush.

"Help me!" Remus's voice yelled. Suddenly, Jingle remembered her dream with voices. It was this scene. She had thought Romulus was attacking Remus, but in reality it was simply a cry for help. Jingle immediately launched herself onto the mud slide, sliding down toward Remus. Her heavy metal form, however, prevented her from going all the way. With mud and stones trapped in her joints, she had a difficult time getting up. Romulus caught up to her, and he grabbed onto her arm before helping her up. He placed her arm over his shoulder and he placed his hand around her waist.

The two of them walked over to the path Remus had left behind, and stopped when they realize that it led to the cliffside. All that was left of Remus was a piece of his red tebbana.

"Remus…" Jingle said. She felt electricity surge through her system, and realized the mud and rocks had damaged her circuits. As she slipped to the ground and began to lose consciousness, two words left her lips.

"Aranthur…Larentia…" she whispered, and she closed her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a short chapter because I got sick, and so I wanted to wrap it up quickly at the time.

Her body trembled with a start. Jingle's eyes opened to see nothing but darkness. She focused on moving her body, but nothing would really move. She then decided to try and move her fingers, and they twitched. She moved her wrist, and by frequently moving the joint, managed to get all the mud that was wedged between the metal out. She reached to remove all the mud in the wrist joint of her other arm, and before she knew it she had cleared away almost all of mud.

Then began the task of finding out where she was. She reached out in front of her, and her palms met a metal wall. She felt around, and she realized that she was in a box. A large, metal box.

"Oh, gaskets! I'm stuck!" she exclaimed.

She placed her hands on the side in front of her pushed. Even though she was the strongest that had existed around Aranthur's village, she found that she had to summon every ounce of her inhuman strength to slowly push the lid off.

As soon as the lid fell, a large plume of dust filled the air. Her filter stopped it from entering her boiler, and she waved her hands around to clear the dust. The air soon became clear, and she was able to see that she was in some sort of shrine, for their were candles and incense everywhere inside what she realized was a sort of cave. She appeared to be on some sort of pedestal, for she was raised above the ground. She stepped down and took a few steps around. She turned to face the pedestal where she was, and she found that the box was actually a sort of casket, and carved in the stones around it were gears of all kinds, with the vague shape of an automaton included.

She then picked up on footsteps entering the cave, and she turned to find a man. This man was of average stature, with clear bright eyes, and a fair complexion. His hair was also light, inclining to golden, and his hair was slightly curly to the point where you couldn't tell unless you looked really close. He was wearing a white toga, with a red clavi that was strangely familiar.

The figure laid eyes on her, and then he turned to look at the casket before turning back toward her.

"Are you her? The metal maiden?" he asked.

"Metal maiden? I don't know who that is" she scoffed.

"The casket is empty, and you, metal one, have appeared out of thin air! Did you come from the casket?" he asked. She turned, and shrugged.

"If that casket is the one you're talking about, then yeah. Which brings up a question. Why was I in there?" she asked. He reached out his hand toward her.

"Come with me, and all will be explained" he said. She walked toward him, and took it. After all, she was in a strange land, in a strange place with a stranger. She could do nothing but find some help.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Augustus, emperor of Rome" he said.

••••••••••

"Augustus? Rome? I'm not familiar with the place" she said.

"If you are a machine, then who is your creator? When were you built?" he asked.

"I am not a machine. Not completely, anyway.My father always told me that I was built with the body of a machine, but made with the heart and soul of a human. My father was Aranthur Larentia, and he created me in 769 BC" she said.

"My dear, that is quite some time ago" he said.

"Really? How long?" she asked.

"750 years" he said. She froze, and then turned toward him.

"Oh my gears, what year is it?" she asked, a slight fear evident in her voice.

"19 BC" he said.

"That long…that means that I'm over 700 years old…that means that Aranthur…" she said, trailing off. She raised up her arms, and her hands trembled as she grabbed at her hair.

"No…Aranthur, Velthur…" she said, and she sunk down to her knees as oil began to drip from her photoreceptors.

"Metal maiden…" Augustus said.

"It's Jingle! My name is Jingle!" she snapped, red tinting her vision and her engine thrumming dangerously.

"Very well…Jingle" he said.

Her body convulsed, and she collapsed to the floor.

"Put me back in the box! Please, anything!" she screamed, sobbing.

Augustus walked over to her and place his hands on her shoulders, comforting her. He did nothing but sit there, waiting until her sobs died down to sniffles.

"Would you like to come to the palace? It could be better than here, in this dirty old cave, and I can answer any questions you have" he said. His words reminded her of Aranthur, and a small smile formed on her face befor she gave a small nod.

"Sure" she said.

••••••••••

Jingle and Augustus roamed the palace. Her optics captured every detail they could, from the palace atrium to the main hall. After a while of touring, they ended up sitting in the small courtyard, the sun slightly reflecting off her metal frame and casting a very light glow.

"Is there any chance I can go back to Etruria?" she asked.

"Well, in all essence you can. Etruria is now part of Rome, and of course you are free to go where you wish. With some palace guards, of course" he added.

"Augustus…I am perfectly capable of fending for myself. I don't need any guards to look after me like a child" she said. She crossed her arms and huffed as steam escape through her exhaust vents.

"Simply for your safety. You do wish to go back to your home?" he asked.

"Yes".

"Then accept the guard. You are technically one of the empire's treasured artifacts" he said.

"I am not an artifact!" she yelled.

"Technically, my dear. I see you as an equal" he said.

"I just want to go back home. To my original home" she said.

"Very well. From my knowledge, I don't believe there would be anyone still living in the old Etrurian area, so if being seen by others is your concern, it shouldn't be a problem. However, you must allow me to be able to go and check up on you, to see how you are doing from time to time" he said, taking her hand in his. She pondered it for a moment, and nodded.

"Fine" she said, giving him a warm smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of it might not be accurate to part of the movie, but I didn't have the liberty of watching it while writing. It's kinda based on memory, but also tweaked a little bit to fit putting her into it.

"Home" she said. Jingle looked around, and through her bellows now flowed the air of Cerveteri. Around her were miles and miles of open fields, and in the center of it all, a single house. The house where she was made.

She walked over to the slightly run-down building and examined it. Memories flooded her processors as she was reminded of the people who lived here. Aranthur, Velthur, Larcia, Vitellia and Ranazu. The people she loved. The people that were her family.

She roamed the halls, her fingers tracing the details of the walls, her photoreceptors playing images of her and her loved ones living their daily lives in this home. Oil gathered in her eyes and tears ran down her cheeks as she was reminded of those sweet memories.

She made her way to the basement, the place where Aranthur always tinkered with his projects and machines. There she found little fragments of metals, blueprints of side projects he had in mind, and a bookmarked page of his journal. She read it, and gasped.

It was a list of the places Aranthur was to go looking for her. Apparently, the day that Jingle had left after Ranazu and her had gotten in an argument was the last day that Aranthur had seen her. All he had found was a few gears and a large trail of mud and footprints leading to the seaside. He then had spend all of his time searching for her, and he never found her again. Jingle suddenly remembered that Augustus had mentioned how she ended up in the casket. Apparently, after she powered down, Remulus had placed her inside a solid gold casket and deemed her the metal maiden, the Harbinger whose arrival to life proclaimed the beginning of the mighty Roman Empire. He had apparently been in status mode for decades, until she finally awoke the day that she met Augustus.

"He was looking for me the whole time…" she said. As time passed, she had become slightly accustomed to the sadness included in memories, so now she expressed a sad smile and the speed up of gears.

As she explored the house, she stumble upon a lyre with a great bull's head. As she examined it, she remembered when Larcia would play a sweet melody and the children would fall asleep right after. She sat down and brought the lyre close to her before placing her metal fingers on the strings.

"Maybe I've finally found a calling after all" she said, and began to play.

\----------

As time passed, Jingle could play the lyre with frightening ease. Decades went by, and she spent that time practicing, which fine-tuned her senses. So, she moved on to other instruments such as the lute, the. She had even went on to create her own versions that collapsed into very tiny carrying cubes. She also spent all her time studying mechanics and engineering so that she could take care of herself now that everyone else was gone. Every day she would tweak something here and there, and soon she was practically as skilled as Aranthur himself.

One day, she was sitting outside, playing her lyre when a man approached. There were very slight similarities between him and Augustus, but these were very slight. Everything else was different, which meant he must have been related to him somehow. The man carried with him the very familiar clavi she had seen on Augustus, so she figured either many people had the same clavi, or this was the new emperor. Many, many years had passed, after all.

She leaned away from the lyre, and turned to face the man.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I am Emperor Vespasian of the Roman Empire. I am here to pay a visit to you, as all Emperors should've done" he said.

"Wait, Vespasian? What happened to Augustus? What year is it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"79 AD. The age of Augustus is long gone" he said.

"Time goes by quick. What do you want with me? If all of the other emperors haven't come to visit me, then why should you?" she asked.

"Because unlike them, I'm here to put an end to your days" he said, grinning.

"What? You must be out of your mind!" she exclaimed. He chuckled, dark intentions clear.

"No. My mind is perfectly clear. For years my people have worshipped you as practically a deity and not me, but ha ha, I'm the only one who knows you exist. Therefore, once I'm rid of you, I can finally be proclaimed as the great lord that I am!" he said.

"Stay away from me. If people don't know about me, then it shouldn't bother you. They can just go on thinking I don't exist" she said.

"But I know you do. Others might come here and find you. And I can't allow that" he said, drawing a dagger. He stepped forward, and she in return stepped back. He launched himself toward her, and she did the only thing she could think of. She punched.

Her fist connected with Vespasian's cheek, and he was launched backwards onto the dirt. She did the first thing she could think of, and booked it as fast as she could. She never once turned to look back, and she kept running for as long as her legs could take her.

Eventually she reached a city that appeared to be at the base of a large volcano. She reached the outskirts but dared not to go in. Suddenly, her gears sputtered as realized with growing horror that her boiler was out of water. After days of endless running and small refills, there just wasn't enough water to keep her upright anymore. She sunk down to her knees, and soon she fell onto the ground, warmed by the sun.

She wasn't sure how long it was, but it felt like she had been there for hours. Suddenly, a shadow appeared in front of her. She felt a pair of hands grab her by the wrists and drag her all the way through the gates and into a building.

It was there that she heard a woman's voice.

"It's alright. I'll get you some water" she said. Her voice was very soothing, and all Jingle could do was lay there. She felt a hand open up her jaw and pour some water into her mouth. Her engine sputtered and her gears twitched before her boiler began to heat the water to make steam. She felt herself become stronger, and before she knew it she was right and whole again. She moved her jaw and the rest of her joints, testin her body. When all was well, she sat up. There she saw a woman, with delicate features and a warm smile.

"Hi there. My name is Elsief. What's your name?" she asked. Jingle cleared her throat, warming up her voice box to speak.

"My name is Jingle. Where am I?" she said.

"Well, Jingle, you're in Pompeii. I hope you're just passing by, because there seems to be some tremors coming from Mt. Vesuvius" she said. Just as she finished her sentence, a tremor shook the land, and a large plume of smoke escaped from the mouth of the volcano before ash rained down on the city.

"Oh no!" Elsief cried. Jingle grabbed her hand and immediately booked it out of the city. She looked back, and saw that the great plume of ash was catching up to them.

"Elsief, get out of here" Jingle said. Elsief looked at her.

"I can't just leave you. We can escape" she said.

"Listen to me. You have to run as fast as you can. I can't leave, my boilers don't have enough water to outrun this thing. So maybe I can go and help pthers who are trapped. But you go, please" Jingle pleaded. Elsief looked at her, and nodded as the clouds grew dark above them.

"If that's what you want" she said. Jingle nodded and gave her a little push before turning toward the ash. She ran toward the city, but she realized that she wasn't going to make it in time. She planted her feet firmly onto the ground, and placed her arms in front of her to block the storm. As the ash hit her, it manage to push her back some feet. All should could do was brace herself and hang on, when suddenly she saw lava close in. She gasped, but the ash began to cloud her air filter, making her dizzy. She sunk down to one knee, and then she collapsed. As her vision darkened, she could've sworn she saw lava begin to erupt from the volcano.

\----------  
She woke up strapped to a metal table. There were countless tools surrounding her, but there was no one in sight. She found that her right arm and her left leg had been taken apart and were now gears and coils surrounding her. Her fingers were different lengths, her foot on her right leg was missing, and her neck was opened to reveal all of the cables and wires. Her torso and waist were seperated, conmected by some wires. She wouldn't have been able to look sideways since her head was stuck in place, but one of her photoreceptors was hanging off to the side, dangling by only a few wires.

She appeared to be in some sort of warehouse, since all around her the noises of a battle echoed off the walls. As she turned to the side, she saw a man. She couldn't see his face, since his head was kept from turning with a metal frame. However, she could tell he was part of an army based on his clothes.

"Hello?" she called out. She saw the man's fingers twitch.

"Who's there? Who are you?" he asked, somewhat frightened.

"My name is Jingle. I'm a friend. What's yours?" she asked.

"My name…my names is James Barnes. My friends call me Bucky. Do you know where we are?" he asked.

"No idea. I just regained consciousness a little while ago" she said.

"Do you hear that? The fight?" he asked.

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Maybe we can use it as a distraction to get out of here."

"How? We're strapped to metal tables?"

Suddenly, Jingle's eyes caught the silhouette of another man who approached Bucky.

"Bucky! It's me, Steve" he said.

"Steve?" Bucky asked.

"Don't worry, we're going to get you out of here" the man now known as Steve said as he began loosening the straps holding Bucky down. She saw Bucky get up, and the two embraced before they made a move to leave. However, Bucky stopped in his tracks.

"Bucky? What is it? We have to get you out of here" Steve said.

"Jingle? Where are you? We're gonna get you out of here too" he said.

"No, Bucky. I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, I can handle this. I'll be fine" she said.

"Steve, help me find a flashlight around here" Bucky said.

The two searched around the lab, and Steve found an old flashlight for emergency power outages. He turned it on, and as he shone the light down on Jingle, they gasped.

"You're…you're a robot?" Bucky asked.

"Uh, yeah" she said. As she finished speaking, the walls shook and gunfire was heard.

"You two need to get out of here. Quickly!" she cautioned. Steve grabbed Bucky's arm and was about to drag him off, but Bucky stayed.

"Well, what are you waiting for?! Get out of here, now!" Jingle yelled. Bucky, with a determined look in his eye, began to undo her straps.

"Bucky, what are you doing?!" she asked.

"Getting you out of here!" he replied, completely undoing the straps holding her to the table.

"You're in bad shape. We need to get you fixed" he said.

"No, there's no time for that. Find a box or something" she said. Steve found a fairly large box and helped Bucky place all of her parts and her in it.

The three of them met up with the rest of the captured unit, and after fighting their way out of the base, managed to esape.

They trekked through the woods, trying to find their way back to camp. Jingle took the time to get a look at Bucky's friend Steve. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, strong and sturdy features, but one of his most interesting attributes was a shield and suit that held three colors: red, white and blue.

"Steve" she said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"What's with the uniform? Is it a costume?" she inquired.

"Oh. Yeah, sort of. It's sort of the costume of a nickname I took up" he said.

"Well what nickname is that?" she asked.

"Captain America"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know everyone might be a little OOC in this fic, but meh. What do I know.

They were nearing base. The tents, troops and tanks of the army were visible on the horizon.

Steve looked to his side and saw how Jingle and Bucky were having a conversation the whole way back, and they laughed and joked often. He smiled, since for once his best friend had someone…or something to keep him company. He still couldn't get over the fact that she was a robot. She was so human like. Her inventor must've put some great deal of work into her. Her movements weren't all fluid an smooth, however. They were a bit more mechanical than human. Even though Bucky had someone to speak to, he knew he was going to have to report it to the Colonel as soon as he could.

Bucky had spent the whole way pointing out the world to Jingle, encouraging her to open up to people. However, she wouldn't speak more than a few word to anyone but him. He himself had carried her in her box all the way to base camp. After all, it was he who found and helped her back in the Hydra base. Hydra, the Nazi's deep science division.

"So, Jingle, how'd you end up strapped to that table anyway?" Bucky asked.

"I'm not sure. The last thing I remember is going under back in Pompeii thanks to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius" she said.

"Wait, as in THE Pompeii? In 79?" he asked.

"Yeah, why? Wait, let me guess. It's been who-knows-how-many-years since that day" she said.

"Yeah, pretty much. It's 1943" he explained.

"I thought so" she sighed.

"Wait, for you to have been there you'd have to be 1,864 years old" Steve suddenly stated.

"Well, I was actually invented in 769 BC, so about 2,633 years old, actually" she added.

"No way…" Bucky said.

"We're approaching camp" Steve said. Jingle turned to look at the nearing troops, and Bucky began hearing the sputtering of anxious gears and trembling vents.

"Are you alright?" Bucky asked.

"N-no…there's t-t-t-too much peo-peo-peo-peo-peo-peo-people here…" she stammered. Steve turned to Bucky.

"Take her to Stark. If anyone can fix her, it's him. She has to look presentable before meeting the Colonel" he said.

"The Colonel? I have to meet more people? And a colonel of all people?" she asked. Bucky nodded to Steve, and started heading to the side.

"I have an idea. Why don't we close the box real quick, that way a bunch of people don't see you. So you don't have to be scared" he explained.

"Scared? Who said I was scared?" she grumbled, but nodded. Bucky closed the box and began making his way to Stark's tent.

•••••••••

Tent was a bit of an understatement. The place was more like a house, since Stark had everything he needed to live comfortably. Aside from his 'home' he also had his whole workshop, seeing as how the guy was a genius inventor.

Bucky walked in and placed the box on the table.

"Um, Mr. Stark?" he called out. Out came a handsome-looking man with dark hair, brown eyes and a finely-kept mustache. Howard Stark.

"Ah, um…what was your name again?" he asked.

"Bucky, sir" he said.

"Ah of course, Bucky! What brings you to my humble home?" he asked. Bucky walked over to the box where Jingle was kept.

"Well sir, Steve instructed me to bring this box to you. He figured you'd be able to fix her up" he said.

"And what are we looking at here?" he asked rhetorically as he opened up the box. As soon as he did, he gasped, for inside was a machine, the likes he had never seen before.

"What is this?" he asked, picking up pieces and placing them on the table.

"An automaton, sir. I found her back in the compound where we were held captive. Oh, and there's one more thi-" he explained.

"This is amazing! Oh if she could speak, the stories she could tell us!" he sighed.

"Um, I can" a voice said. Stark looked around, searching for the source of the voice.

"Who said that? Where are you?" he asked.

"Down here" the voice replied, and he looked down at the robot before it waved. He screamed, hiding behind Bucky.

"It talks?!" he asked. Bucky nodded.

"She does" he said. Stark immediately returned back to the table, an ecstatic gleam in his eye.

"Oh wow! You actually speak! You work! This is wonderful!" he yelled.

"I'd be able to walk, as well, but I just need a little fix. I'd do it myself, but I need at least my fingers reattached before I can do that" she explained.

"Oh of course, dear! Of course!" he said as he began to search for her various finger segments. She turned to look at Bucky.

"Bucky, maybe you should go and report in. I'll be fine here and fixed up in no time" she said. He nodded and left the tent, leaving her with Stark.

He gathered up all of her pieces and scooted them closer to her hands. He screwed them on tight, and she flexed her attached arm, moving each piece at a time. When she was satisfied, he placed her torso on her waist, and she began placing her wires and coils in the correct places.

"So, what is your name? Who invented you? What year were you born?" he asked.

"Well, my name is Jingle. I was created in 79 by Aranthur Larentia" she said.

"79…A.D.? That's-" he said, but was cut off.

"Yes yes, I'm old. I already went over this with Bucky and Steve" she said.

"You know, I'm an inventor myself. An engineer. Would you mind letting me take a look at your inner workings?" he asked.

"Um, maybe another time. I'd rather just focus on fixing myself up right now before someone walks in and finds me as a great big mess" she said, taking a screwdriver and tightening some loose screws. Stark helped by arranging her metal limbs and from time to time holding it in place fore her to fix herself. Soon, she was completely functional again. She flexed her limbs, regaining full control of her body.

"Fully functional…what a sight" he said. He took the time to examine her state, and slightly cringed at all the scrapes, bumps, rust and scratches that covered her metal body.

"Jingle…have you ever thought about replacing the metal for a better kind? After all, yours is over 2,000 years old" he said.

"I…I don't think I would. This metal is practically the only thing I have as a keepsake from Aranthur…" she said, tapping her metal.

"But listen…we could mix your bronze with another type of metal, that way you can keep your bronze and yet be updated, strong and durable" he said. She thought about it, and then nodded.

"Well, what kind of metal would you use with my bronze?" she asked. Stark scratched his chin and then grinned at her.

"I got it…I recently discovered a rare metal that's stronger than steel and a third of the weight. If you'd like, we can use the rest of the metal and infuse it with your bronze body. What do you say?" he asked.

"Well, alright. But how exactly are we going to do such a thing? There are no resources here, and nothing to heat and melt the metal" she said.

"I know. I'll seek permission from the Colonel. We'll head back to my house and use my tools there" he said. She nodded, but then an idea came to her, and she placed her hand on Stark's shoulder.

"Where exactly are we on a map?" she asked.

"Well, we'd have to find the Colonel and use his, but I think we're near the heart of Italy" he said.

"I know a place we can go. All I need is some time to get there" she said.

"Well, where is it?" he asked.

"Cerveteri" she replied.

••••••••••

"Mr. Stark" a voice suddenly said. Both human and automaton turned to see a man and a woman enter the tent. They both appeared to be in uniform, indicating that they were higher in rank than just the average soldier. The Colonel.

"Colonel Phillips, Agent Carter. Always a pleasure" Stark said, emerging from a nearby room while using a nearby rag to clean some grease and engine oil from his hands.

"Howard Stark. Mr. Rogers has informed us of a…machine you have currently under your possession" Agent Carter said.

"Well in technical terms, yes. But I can assure you, she is just as much human as you and I" he said.

"Cut all this talk and show us where this machine is" Col. Phillips said. Stark nodded, and as he pulled back the curtains, two sets of human eyes met a pair of glowing amber photoreceptors.

"Hello" Jingle said, standing in the center of the room. Apparently they must have had some god training, since both Col. Phillips and Agent Carter showed virtually no expression. Well, almost. Col. Phillips had his eyebrows raised.

"May I present Jingle, a fully-functional bronze automaton built in 79 A.D. by Aranthur Larentia" Stark said. Col. Phillips took a walked around her, examining her.

"Is she built for war?" he asked.

"No. She's an antique. Far too delicate for wars. She's not equipped for such a thing. Not yet, anyway" Stark said.

"Not yet? Whatever do you mean?" Agent Carter asked.

"What I mean is, we would like to take a trip to Jingle's home in Cerveteri. We can upgrade her metal, and have her ready for battle" Stark said. The Colonel pondere the option for a moment, and then nodded.

"Very well. However, I expect you and the machine to return as soon as possible. The more human lives we can save, the better" he said. And with this, he turned around and left as he came. Agent Carter, however, stuck around.

"Anything I can help you with, ma'am?" Stark asked.

"I simply wished to observe…her for the moment" she said. Stark nodded, and turned to return to his previous duties. Jingle, however, remained still and unmoving. Peggy figured she was in some sort of power down mode, so she took the chance to take a step closer. She was quite amazed with the amount of work and dedication put into such an invention. The power to basically give her some sort of soul was amazing on its own. Suddenly, Jingle's head turned to face Peggy.

"Yes?" she asked. Peggy stood still. Jingle took the opportunity to take a step closer.

"Don't be afraid. I don't intend to harm anyone" she said. This made Peggy feel a little safer.

"Um…how do you do?" she asked.

"How do I do…what? I think it'd be better to know what exactly what it is I am to do, and that way I can explain it to you" she said, tilting her head. This elicited a small smile from Peggy.

"No, it means 'how are you'" she explained.

"Oh…well then I'm doing great!" the automaton said, suddeny gaining a large grin that stretched from ear to ear.

"Stark. Are you serious about going to this 'Cerveteri' to prepare her for war?" Peggy asked.

"Well, I shouldn't really be telling you this, but no. Just an upgrade in metal. But I had to involve war in it to get permission from the Colonel. Even if he had said no, we still would've gone, though" he said.

"But it'd be a good idea. I want to help soldiers. I may not have originally been designed for it, but I want to help. That way we can stop another thing like captured soldiers from happening again" she said.

"Are you sure?" Stark asked. Jingle nodded without hesitation.

"Very well. Let's do it" Stark said.


	7. Chapter 7

Jingle and Stark were gone on some sort of secret mission that neither the Colonel or Agent Carter would disclose with anyone. Anyone being Bucky and Steve. Steve could honestly say that he was a bit indifferent to them being gone. After all, he wasn't exactly the biggest fan of those two. But he did like Jingle more than Stark. At least Jingle was friends with Bucky. And speaking of Bucky, he could currently be found sulking in his tent. He and Jingle were friends, and she was really the only person Bucky would want to hang out with other than Steve. Since Steve had his duties as Captain America, Bucky had taken to spending more and more time with the robot. They had become good friends, and Steve could've sworn he thought Bucky had begun to develop some sort of crush on the robot. How, Steve didn't know. But, they were gone. And Bucky was sad. The only thing to distract him was a team.

Steve and Bucky had assembled this team. A 6-man team, capable of destroying Hydra camps. It had become sort of the right arm of the Colonel. Steve was currently standing away on the opposite side of the camp from his team, throwing his shield at various enemies he came across in the dead of night. Then, two men with heavy armor appeared on either side of him, and from their arm guards shot flames, surrounding him into a tight spot. More soldiers came, surrounding him. It'd take a miracle for him to fight off all of these men on his own. Luckily for him, he had a friend.

A loud sound booked through the air, not unlike that of a thunderstorm. All on the battlefield turned to look upon the figure standing on the top of the hill.

"Step away from the Captain and no one shall get hurt" a feminine voice said. A flash of lightning struck the ground, and everyone could see the light reflect off the pristine bronze metal before the light faded, leaving two glowing amber optics and the thrumming of her engine hanging in the air.

Steve immediately knew who it was. Why she was standing on the top of the hill with her arms crossed, he had no idea. But he had a feeling he was about to find out.

A chuckle resounded through the men, and the woman launched herself into the fight. Steve watched as a hatch in her left forearm opened up, and a small object flew into her hand. She pressed a button, and as soon as she did, a large beam of plasma emerged from what was now revealed to be a hilt. From her other forearm came an old western revolver with a bit of a glow, and she aimed both at the flamethrower men surrounding the Captain. She shot a man in the leg with a plasma bullet, and as he fell, she used his shoulder as a launch point. Pushing off with her superhuman strength (resulting in a loud crack to sound under her foot) she launched herself up, corkscrewing in the air to slice and then shoot the two. As her feet touched the floor, the two flamethrower men collapsed on the floor. Her hair covered her face, and through the wires she grinned at the Captain before throwing herself back into the battle. Slash and shoot, slash and shoot. It became sort of a routine as she disabled the men down two by two. Occasionally her jaw would descend as out would come a barrage of flames to lick at her opponent's feet, and as they'd practically dance to get away, she'd take the opportunity to knock them out with a good punch to the face. By the end of the battle, all were downed with various cuts and bruises, and Jingle was standing near the Captain, weapons sheathed. She rubbed her arm, chuckling.

"I overdid it a little" she said. Steve looked at her, and he broke out laughing.

"Overdid it? I think it was perfectly done" he said. She smiled.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He nodded.

"Just fine, thanks to you. Boy, won't Bucky be happy to see you again" he said.

"I can't wait to see him again. I've missed all of you while I was gone" she said.

"Well, come on. We have to go meet up with the others. Who knows what kind of a mess they've gotten into" Steve said, smiling before the two of them made their way across the camp.

Jingle and Steve hurried over to the opposite side of the camp, where Bucky and the rest of the team were surrounded by a bunch of fallen Hydra soldiers.

"Wow, looks like someone really knew how to finish up here" Steve said.

"Yeah, but luckily I had backup. You were off on your own, so you didn't" Bucky said.

"Oh, but I did" Steve said. He looked to the area far behind him and motioned for someone to walk forward. Bucky's eyes widened as a familiar bot walked forward.

"Hi Bucky" she smiled.

"Jingle!" Bucky cried, running forward and throwing his arms around his mechanical friend.

"It's nice to see you too" she laughed.

"Where'd you come from? When did you get here?" he asked.

"Well, I came from over that hill over there, and I was helping Steve with his enemies. Looks like he finally bit off more than he could chew" she said, grinning as she turned to him. Steve chuckled sarcastically and started walking. Jingle's smile slipped off her face, and she looked at Bucky.

"What did I say?" she asked. He shrugged. Jingle caught up with the Captain and placed her hand on his shoulder. He immediately reacted, twisting away and spinning to face her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"What's wrong? You're a freak. You're a machine, and you're acting like you're human. You pretend to be Bucky's friend, but for all we know you could be a Hydra spy. You don't belong here" he said. He turned, and his hands clenched into fists.

"A Hydra spy?" she asked. He turned to face her again.

"I'm not a machine. Well, technically I am, but I like to think I have a soul. I am my own person, thanks to Aranthur. He inspired me to make something of myself, and not just serve others. I'm here helping because I want to. That's why as much as I'm against war, fighting, and violence, I decided to upgrade myself. To stop people from dying, to stop people from being captured like Bucky was. I'm not a Hydra spy. I'm just…me. But if you don't want to believe me…" she said, and reached to her chassis. She slipped her fingers under the cover and opened it, revealing her bright blue core to Steve. She held the chassis doors open, gaining a firm stance and a strong look in her eyes.

"Go ahead. If I'm Hydra, then I don't deserve to live. For what they did to Bucky. For what they did to Aranthur" she said, oil gathering in her eyes and dripping down her cheeks.

Steve looked up into her eyes, and all he saw was a fierce determination. His face scrunched into a frown, and he looked at her core before sighing.

"No. I won't. I just haven't given myself the opportunity to adjust to you yet. I'm judging you before I've even gotten to know you, and it's not fair. For now, let's just stay away from each other" he said, and left. Jingle stood there, slowly closing her chassis and sighing. Bucky walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay. He just needs a little time" he said. She nodded, and started walking back toward camp.

\----------

"I don't know what I'm going to do about the Captain. I mean, I figured once I'd be back I'd be able to help on the front lines, defending the people I care about and whatnot, but now…I don't know what to do" she said, sitting on a reclining couch she had build. Stark nodded, putting down his welding torch and walking over to sit next to her.

"Just give him some space. All guys need space" he said. She nodded.

"I guess. I should go and out with Bucky!" she said, grinning from ear to ear. Literally.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. Mr. Barnes, Mr. Rodgers and their team went on a secret mission" Stark said. She looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Well if it's so secret, then why do you know about it?" she asked.

"Oh, I have my ways" he said, grinning.

"Oh, well then I'll just hang out here then. I could do some more adjusting to my weapons" she said, hopping off the couch and shooing off any traces of nonexistent dust.

She had thought of heading to Bucky's tent to find out for sure if Stark wasn't lying, but she didn't want to be seen by anyone. After all, quick orders from the Colonel were to prevent being seen by anyone.

She left the tent and traveled into the forest, reaching her training spot. It was a large area, with various targets placed around. She pressed a nearby button on the ground, and as she grasped her plasma revolver, the targets began to move in erratic ways. She took a deep breath, and soon she began twisting and turning, aiming and shooting at the targets. As she did this, she pulled out a screwdriver from her side compartment, and she began tweaking where it was necessary, gaining in speed and accuracy as she worked. Soon, she was covered in small beads of condensation, her core whirling as she pumped her bellows full with air. She smiled, proud of her accomplishment before she retracted her weapon and stored it safely away in her wrist compartment.

She spent a while there in the forest, honing her sense for battle. She valued time different than humans did since she didn't exactly need sleep. Time could pass so slowly some times, and at other times it could pass as quick as lightning. Right now, she had no idea how much time had passed, and frankly she didnt care since she was tired down to her circuits. The clouds up above were beginning to darken, and she had a certain foreboding.

Her body slumped over, and her bellows pumped with air as steam hurridly escaped from her cheek vents. She opened up her chassis and pulled out a small box. She began to unfold it, and soon it became a large lyre. There wasn't really a moment when she didn't play it, and Stark had even congratulated her in her ability to play it.

As her fingers plucked at the strings and played a meaningless tune, she felt the presence of someone nearby, and as she turned to see Stark walking toward her, she smiled.

"Oh, hey there" she said. As she saw the serious look on his face, the smile slipped fom her own.

"What's the matter?" she asked as he held out a large trenchcoat for her.

"The Colonel wants to see you" he said. She nodded, getting up and folding up her lyre. She then began following Stark as she donned the coat.

"Let's hurry. It looks like it's going to rain" she said, the statement being followed by a rumbling in the clouds.

She followed Stark, lifting up the collar of the coat and shielding anyone from looking at her. Stark held open the tent flap and she hurried inside, him following after her. As she walked inside, she saw Agent Carter and Steve standing in front of her.

"Excuse me, I'm here to see the Col-"

"No. We called for you" Peggy said. Jingle looked at her, confused.

"What is it? What's going on?" she asked.

"Miss, we have some important news to tell you" Steve said.

"What is it? Please, tell me" she said.

"We thought you should be one of the first to know, since James Barnes did see you as one of his best friends, so to sp-" Peggy said, but was cut off.

"Tell me…" she said, her eyes glowing dangerously.

"Bucky is dead" Steve said. All traces of anger left Jingle's photoreceptors as she began to laugh.

"You can't be serious" she said.

"Mr. Barnes is gone" Peggy said. This only made Jingle laugh harder.

"No, you're joking. This is just some cruel joke. Bucky's around here somewhere. Bucky?" she called out. Steve grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"Bucky is gone! He's never coming back!" Steve yelled. Jingle stood still, her smile dying. She looked into his eyes, and her lip trembled.

"No…no, you're…you're lying! You're all lying!" she yelled, her pain and anger evident in her eyes. She immediately turned and stomped out of the tent, ignoring the fact that it had begun to rain.

She heard Stark, Peggy and Steve call out to her, but she kept on running. She ran and ran until she hit the edge of the forest, and she continued to run until she reached her favorite tree. It was an unusually large pine, with its roots stretching out as far as they eye could see. She curled her hand into a fist and immediately began punching. The tree seemed to be used to such things, since it only took on scratches as the bark connected with her fists. Of course, she didn't go all out, since even though she was angry, she couldn't unleash her strength against a poor tree, least of all her favorite. So the one taking the damage here was her, and it was starting to become evident. Her hands were all scraped up with bark and her knuckles had popped off, leaking small amounts of oil the more she kept striking. She missed some hits, since her oily tears streamed down her face and clouded her vision. Soon, the loss of oil began to affect her, and she slowed down editor stopping all together. She slumped against the tree, sobbing and crying as she mourned the loss of her dear friend.

\-------

It had been a little while since Steve, Stark and Peggy had witnessed a very distressed robot exit the Colonel's tent. The three of them were gathered in Stark's tent, Peggy aiding Stark with one of his projects as Steve stood near the corner and looked out the door.

"Worried about something? Or someone?" Stark asked. Steve glared at him, and Peggy walked over to place a hand on his shoulder.

"What is it?" Peggy asked.

"I'm a bit worried about Jingle. We haven't seen a single trace of her since we left the Colonel's tent" he said.

"I'm sure she's fine. She's a strong woman" Stark said.

"No. I can tell she's not. At least right now. I know what she's like. Strong as a robot on the outside, but inside…she's just as human as us" Steve said.

"She fine. She's a robot. She's lived for over 2,000 years. I'm sure she can handle a few things" Stark said.

"But has she ever recently had to deal with losing someone she cared about? After all, she's been in and out of stasis" Peggy said.

"Maybe you're right. I should go look for her. Who knows what kind of mischief a robot like her can get into" Steve said. He gathered an umbrella and exited the tent, looking down to see deep impressions in the mud. He knew the only person heavy enough to make such prints were her, so he followed the muddy trail until reaching the forest.

"Jingle?" he called out. He quickened his pace as he realized that the prints were starting to fill with water, which meant if he didn't hurry he'd lose her trail. He walked for quite a while, swerving and weaving through the trees until reaching an unusually large one. The trail stopped there, and he saw that there was some dark stain on the bark. He examined it, and he realized that it was oil. He paced around the tree, and he saw that she was sitting on the other side.

"Jingle. There you are" he said, breathing a sigh of relief. She looked up at him, her optics void of emotions.

"What is it? I want to be alone for a while" she said. Steve walked over and sat next to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm just fine" she said.

"Listen, I'm hurting too. Bucky was my best friend. He and I were always there for each other. And I…I couldn't save him…I watched him fall…" he said, trailing off.

Jingle looked at him, reaching up and placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, and he saw how her lip trembled.

"It's…it's okay. I'm here for you" she said, a small smile making its way to her mouth. For once, he found he was actually glad for her company. He smiled at her, and she suddenly broke down, oil leaking from her eyes. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, comforting her.

"It's alright. I'm here for you" he said, and she gripped onto his uniform, sobs wracking her small frame.

After a while she seemed to be drained of energy, since her sobs quieted to sniffles. He looked down at her, and he realized that her eyes were half-closed, a dim glow in her photoreceptors. A black substance caught his eye, and he realized that the joints on her hands were all messed up, sticking out and bent into her hands, and oil pumping out from her hands.

"You're bleeding" he said, scrambling to his feet.

"I'm…I'm fine…" she struggled to say. He shook his head and lifted her up, carrying her in his arms.

"I'm going to take you to Stark. He'll fix you right up" he said. All she could do was nod meekly as he made his way to Stark's tent. He used the umbrella to shield her body just in case she wasn't protected against water, and soon he reached Stark's tent. He walked toward a nearby table and set her down as Stark and Peggy hurried over.

"Jingle? Can you hear me?" Stark asked, turning her head to face him. She smiled weakly.

"Y…yeah…" she said. She grimaced with pain as she raised her hand up. Stark took it, and she motioned to Steve. Stark nodded, and he looked at Steve before motioning to Jingle's hand. Steve looked at him, confused, before it clicked and he took her hand.

"Steve…C-" she was saying, but gasped as she breathed in. She automatically sat up, leaning over the table and coughing up a mixture of oil and lighter fluid before laying back down. "Captain…please don't let your anger and grief blind you. It wasn't your fault" she said. Steve nodded, and Jingle smiled before her body started spasming out and she went unconscious. Steve panicked, and Peggy hauled him away as Stark moved in with a whole assortment of tools and gadgets.

"Will she be alright?" he asked.

"She'll be fine. We just need to locate the source of the problem…ah ha!" Stark declared as he removed the inner paneling near the center of her chassis. There he found that there was some damage done to the metal surrounding her core and some damaged wires, but he couldn't see past all the oil. He wiped it away, and then he could see the damage.

"Apparently she tried to puncture through the hull of her core protector and got some of her knuckle joints caught in the process. Luckily she wasn't able to do so before she ran out of energy. That and the vibranium bronze she's made of absorbed the impact and prevented her from hurting herself too badly. She did, however, manage to bare and disconnect some wires that connect her leg nerves to her central processing unit" he said. Steve looked on, clearly confused.

"He means she tried to hurt herself, but her metal wouldn't allow it. She disconnected some wires that connected her legs to her brain, so she couldn't move her legs" Peggy explained. Steve nodded as Stark opened up her metal skull.

"There are some other wires damaged here that I'm not too sure about. I suppose I'll just have to repair them and hope for the best" Stark said, reaching for a soldering wire. As he did, a mechanical hand rapidly grabbed onto his wrist, effectively stopping him. Jingle's eyes opened, staing at Stark.

"Don't touch that" she said.

"What? Why not? What is it?" Stark asked.

"It's my musical processors" she said.

"Why wouldn't you want me to fix them? Don't you want to play your lyre anymore?" he asked.

"No. I don't want to play anything anymore. Never again" she said.

"Why n-" Stark began to say, but was cut off by the robot's stern gaze.

"Because I just don't. That's final" she said. Stark's lips pursed into a straight line, and he ignored the wires. She reached behind her neck and powered down again, allowing Stark to continue his work.

Steve and Peggy watched on as Stark, donning gloves, retrieved a bucket of oil. As he dunked a rag into the oil and began oiling her joints, Steve began to quickly recall a flashback.

He had been about to enter Bucky's tent when he heard that Jingle was playing some tunes to Bucky and he was smiling.

"She must not want to play because Bucky's gone. He always enjoyed listening to her music" he said.

"Of course. She always said he was his best audience member" Stark said.

"Boys. Let's focus on our duties. Mr. Stark, press on. Captain Rodgers, if you'd follow me" Peggy said. With this, they left the engineer's tent. Stark watched them leave, and then he turned back to continue repairing his friend.

Heh. Friend. Never before had he referred to a machine as a friend. He always believe they were simply tools and gadgets, never to feel love, hate, anger, and every emotion humans felt. He never imagined that one day any machine would change his thoughts about that, but yet, here was one such automaton doing so right before his very eyes. He smiled.

\--------

Jingle awoke to a warm sensation running along her body. She opened her eyes to find Stark smoothly running a damp rag over her with a smile on his face.

"Hi" she croaked, her voice box unaccustomed to speaking. He stopped, turning to look at her before smiling.

"Hello there. How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Good. Better than I have in a long time" she said.

"That's good to hear. I repaired the damage done to your body, evened out some dents, put some joints back in place, and all the works. You should feel the difference" he said. She flexed her hands and arms, a small smile on her face as she nodded.

"Yeah. Thank you. How long have I been out?" she asked.

"A while. Not too sure. I've been fixing you, and I took the liberty of giving you an oil rub/polish" he said, chuckling. She smiled at him, taking his hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"Thanks. Where's Steve?" she asked.

"He went on a mission" he said. She froze.

"Against Hydra? Please don't tell me the enemy is Hydra" she said. When Stark said nothing, she immediately sat up.

"Call him back. Get him here. He can't complete this mission" she said, rushing out of the tent as she donned her army gear. Before Stark could say anything else, she ran to the Colonel's tent. She ran in, nostrils flaring and bellows pumping as she searched frantically for Peggy.

It was in a separate little side room where she found her sitting down, looking solemn.

"Peggy? Where's Steve?" she asked.

"He's…he's gone" she said.

"Gone? Gone where? What happened?" she asked, crouching down next to her.

"He was attempting to land a plane. He had defeated Hydra's leader, but the plane they were in was destined to hit New York. He said how he was going to stop it by landing it in the ocean. I was speaking to him when suddenly the signal was lost. He's gone" she explained. Jingle stood up, leaning her hand against the metal bar of the tent frame. Peggy's ears heard the sickening sound of bending metal, and as Jingle stepped outside, where her hand had been was now a twisted clump of crushed metal.

Jingle headed back to Stark's tent, one hand placed on her temple. As she walked, she saw Steve and Bucky's ex-team returning to base. She made eye contact with them, and they tipped their helmets to her. She turned away, quickly walking to her destination. She reached Stark's tent, sitting down on the nearest chair.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to give you such news right away. I just wanted to make sure you were alright first, before telling you what happened" he quickly explained. She turned to him and nodded.

"Thank you. It helped" she said. He grabbed a chair and walked over to where she was at, sitting next to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and as she looked up at him, he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry about Rodgers. I know this must hurt. I know you've suffered so much already throughout your years. I just want you to know I'm here for you. It's okay to let out your feelings every once in a while. You don't have to be strong anymore" he said. Her arms shook as she listened to his words, and suddenly she threw her arms around him and cried into his shirt. He held her for a long while until her tears had long soaked his shirt and she quited into a sort of dreamy state.

"Feel better?" he asked. She nodded as he let go of her and looked at her.

"Thank you, Stark. I feel much better" she said. He smiled.

"Good. Listen, I know this isn't the best time to ask, but have you figured out what you're going to do when the war's over?" he asked. She pondered it for a moment, but then shook her head.

"No, I haven't. And I don't have anywhere to go, seeing as how there's no lineage or descendant of my creator. I'm kinda on my own now" she said.

"Well I was thinking, what if you came to America with me? That way you'd have a friend, and you wouldn't be alone anymore" he asked.

"Actually, I've decided to simply go offline for a while. As much as I'd like to spend time with you and learn more about life and all, but I just need some time to process everything. So, as much as I appreciate your offer, I'll have to decline" she explained, sitting up away from him.

"Listen, Jingle. What if you at least allow me to watch over you once you do go offline? That way whenever you do decide to come back online, you won't wake up in some place without anyone else around" he said.

"Why are you so insistent?" she asked.

"Because…you've grown on me. I never thought that having any type of real friends were important, and that machines were just machines and nothing more. But you've shown me otherwise. With all the time we've spent together, I feel like you're my first real and close friend. You've shown me that machines aren't just metal, and that you and perhaps other machines are just as human as me. And I thank you for that" he said. She smiled.

"Well, if it means that much to you, then I'll do it. I'll go with you to America" she said, smiling at him. He looked at her and smiled back.

\----------

Stark had designed a sort of sarcophagus-like arrangement for her. After all, it would house her metal body as she remained in offline mode. It was a large copper coffin, with all sorts of intricate designs of gears and coils added in by her. She mentioned that she wanted it to look 'pretty' while she slept.

Jingle was currently laying inside of it, while the top was hoisted onto the large makeshift crane of a tank. They were still in the campsite, after all. Howard and Peggy were standing on either side of it, peering in.

"Does this mean we'll never see each other again?" Peggy asked. Jingle smiled.

"Of that I can't be sure. If it is, well then I hope you live long and happy lives, my dear friends" she said, smiling up at them.

"Listen, Jingle. I will make sure you are personally well-kept. If I ever have a child, I hope they'll care for you as much as I do" Stark said. She nodded.

"If that ever does happen, I will watch over them with my life. You can make sure of that" she said.

"Stark, your flight is due in half an hour. Hurry it up" the Colonel said. Stark have him a brief nod before turning back to her.

"Well, this is it. Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes" she said. With this, Stark and Peggy placed their hands on hers. She took them and smiled before letting go. As the lid of her container descended onto the crate and left nothing but pitch black dark all around her, a single tear escaped from her eye before she reached behind her neck and flipped the switch. The amber glow of her photoreceptors dulled until they vanished, lost in the darkness that now occupied her home.

\----------

Anthony Edward Stark, otherwise known as Tony Stark, sat in his living room, talking to his personal assistant and long-time right-hand woman, Virginia "Pepper" Potts. The two were currently discussing new plans for Tony's company, Stark Industries.

Tony was reviewing some files, leisurely leaning back into his chair as Pepper reached for various other files. She lifted up a stack of papers when suddenly an envelope fell to the floor. Pepper picked it up, and noticed how it was addressed to Tony.

"Tony" she said.

"Yeah?" he mumbled, not paying attention to Pepper.

"There's this envelope addressed to you" she said, holding it out to him. He looked at it and shrugged as he returned to his papers.

"Eh. I've seen it before, when I was a kid. It just mentions about some kind of caretaker/object thing my father left me" he said.

"Then open it! If your father wrote it in a letter and addressed it to you and you alone, maybe it's important" she said, never once refraining from holding it out to him. He looked at her and sighed, taking it from her.

"Fine. But as soon as we open whatever this thing is and prove that it's just a useless piece of junk, can we get back to our work?" he asked. She looked at him, and he groaned as he stood up.

"Now, where exactly did your father say he stored this thing?" Pepper asked. Tony took out the letter and skimmed it over.

"Uh…he said he stored it somewhere in…the basement" he said.

"The basement? I didn't know you had a basement" Pepper said.

"I didn't either" he said, turning to look at her.

"Do you have some kind of layout or blueprints?" she asked.

"Yeah. J.A.R.V.I.S., find the schematics for the place" Tony said. A robotic yet human like voice resounded through the place.

[Here they are, sir] it said, and a hologram of the building appeared. Stark's eyes immediately honed in on the basement that appeared.

"Wow. There really is a basement" he said. He donned the wrist gauntlets to his Iron Man gear, just in case he came across anything he shouldn't.

He and Pepper made their way down to the basement. Tony flashed a light down the stairs, but he couldn't see the bottom.

"Ladies first" he gestured, and Pepper smacked his arm before giving him a stern look. Stark quickly flashed a smile before heading down the stairs. He could feel Pepper's hands on his shoulders as he led the way down.

At the bottom he found a large cellar made of large brick stones mortared into place. Large vines were growing through the cracks in the walls, and they were all nestled into a large rectangular shape near the center. Tony walked over to it, and after grabbing and pulling one of the vines, he could see a dark object underneath all the vines. Pepper held the light as Tony began to yank off all the vines, revealing a large shape. Pepper shined the light on the shape, and Tony's eyes caught the copper sarcophagus. He placed his hand on the sarcophagus, and his fingertips traced the gear designs that had been engraved into it.

He grabbed onto the lid and pushed, ultimately using the strength of the suit to push it off. As the lid slid to the floor, there was a quick flash of blue light, which Tony figured was from his chest plate. He turned and was about to mention to Pepper to hand him the flashlight when there was a sudden and very faint sound. This sound, not unlike that of an engine, started to grow louder and louder until it had established a steady thrum. Tony looked into the coffin, and he found himself staring at two glowing amber orbs.

"Howard?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know that bit with Hydra and Aranthur can be a bit confusing, especially since I haven't written anything about Aranthur and his fate after she disappeared. But...all will be revealed in due time. And by due time, probably in a few chapters. I have some more chapters done, and it wasn't until then that I actually remembered about that. See, I'm the type of person who will write something and forget what little details I added in former chapters. So, yeah.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, anyone ever seen the movie "Robots"? With the voice talents of Ewan McGregor and Robin Williams? When they go into the dark, and their eyes kinda become flashlights? Just think of that for the set of lights in the basement.

Tony stepped back, and the amber eyes seemed to close in on him, watching his every move. Tony bumped into Pepper, and she in turn dropped the flashlight, encasing them in total darkness.

"Stark, you haven't aged a day since I last saw you. You actually look a bit younger, like if the war didnt have any effect on you whatsoever!" a female voice exclaimed.

"Whoever you are, stay back. I'm warning you" Tony said, raising his hands up in defense.

"Stark?" the voice asked. The familiar sound of his wrist gauntlets powering up resounded in the air, and he fired at her. She dodged, and before he could even blink, there was a sword made of what he figured was plasma placed at his throat while a glowing revolver placed itself at Pepper's forehead.

"Drop your weapons, and your lady friend won't get hurt" the voice said, the revolver spinning to place a bullet in the firing chamber of the gun. Tony pressed a button on either side of his gauntlets and they fell to the floor, the clattering sound echoing on the floor.

"Who are you?" she asked, the cold and harsh time evident in her voice.

"Virginia Potts" Pepper said.

"No. Not you. Him" she asked.

"Uh…um, my name is, uh, Tony Stark, owner of Stark Industries" he said.

"Stark? Owner? No, it can't be. Where is Howard Stark? What year is it? How long have I been here?" she asked, almost too quick enough for Tony to understand.

"My father is dead, it's the year 2015, and I have no idea how long you've been down here. I didn't even know you were down here until about 10 minutes ago" he said.

"Father? You mean Howard Stark was your father?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yeah. Now, do you mind putting down your weapons? I didn't plan to have the so-called caretaker my father left me to do the opposite and kill me" he said.

"A caretaker? Wha…ah, oh yeah. Do forgive me, Mr. Stark. I was simply defending myself, but seeing as how it's you, I'll put my weapons away at once" she said. As she did, they were once again left in darkness.

"Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that. Let me just…" the voice trailed off. Tony heard a click, and suddenly there were two sets of lights, and they appeared to be coming from the voice's eyes. Eyes? That shouldn't be possible, unless they weren't human…

"Do you mind leading the way upstairs? And if I get my wrist gauntlets? I kinda use those at some point" he said. There was a brief moment of silence, and then she nodded. He could tell thanks to the lights that bobbed up and down.

"Sure" she said. He picked them up, and he grabbed Pepper's arm to lead them upstairs. He could hear footsteps behind him, and as they reached the top of the stairs, he turned to face the basement door.

There out of the shadows came a bronze robot, with a worn out old army uniform and unstrapped helmet that looked like they was from the 40's.

"Who are you?" Stark asked.

"My name is Jingle. Jingle Jubilee" she said.

\----------

"Jingle, huh? Well, excuse me a minute. J.A.R.V.I.S., please pull up any and all records of Jingle Jubilee" Stark said.

[Sorry sir, but no files could be found] he said.

"What? That shouldn't be possible" Stark said.

"Well, not very people knew of me. One of those people was your father, though. Let me properly introduce myself. My name is Jingle Jubilee, created by Aranthur Larentia in 769 B.C." she said.

"Um, okay. And uh, how did you know my father?" Tony asked.

"From the war. I stayed with him during my time" she said.

"Wait, what war? The only war my father was in was World War 2" he said.

"Well then, I guess it was that one. He and I were good friends" Jingle said.

"But why were you down there?" Pep asked.

"Who are you again?" Jingle asked.

"Pepper Potts" she said.

"Well, I didn't want to serve anymore, so he decided to build that for me. The last thing I remember is having the lid closed" she chuckled.

"Well okay then. I guess we'll just have to find you someplace to go" Tony said.

"Wait, you're kicking her out?" Pepper asked, pulling Tony into the kitchen.

"Uh, yeah. I'm already too busy with being iron man to let a silly robot take up my time" he said.

"You can't do that. Your father knew her and kept her close, so she's part of your life whether you like it or not. She's going to stay here, and you are going to be nice to her" Pepper said, jabbing him in the chest.

"Fine" he groaned.

"I was just kidding about the whole 'finding someplace to go' thing. You're completely welcome to stay here" Tony said. Jingle smiled.

"Yay! After all, I swore to Howard that I would watch over you, so if I stay, I can keep my promise!" she said. She bounced in place and clapped her hands, grinning the whole while.

"Anyway, Pepper. We have some work to do" Tony said. He and Pepper walked back to the living room, Jingle right behind them.

"Like what?" Jingle asked.

"Well, I'll have to make some repairs here in the Tower, and I'll also have to make some space around here for you" he explained.

"I can help. You tell me what to do, and I'll do it. I want to help. I've been locked up for way too long" Jingle said.

"I have my robots and suits. I…" Tony was saying, but was city off by Pepper hitting him in the chest. She apparently had forgotten about his metal chest plate, since after her fist connected with it, was pulled back and cradled by her other arm as she sucked in air through her teeth.

"That was your fault" he said, looking at her.

"Maybe I should just go. I'll be back in the morning" Pepper said. Tony was about to walk her to the door, but she insisted that she 'knew the way out'. He turned back to look at Jingle, and he found that she was staring very intensely at his chest plate.

"Um…is something wrong?" he asked. She brought a hand up and tapped it, creating a muffled clinging sound.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Oh, well, I was captured by a bunch of people who use my own weapons to capture and imprison me, and so I built a metal suit to escape. It's a long story. But basically, this is a part of me, since it stops shrapnel from reaching my heart and killing me" he explained.

"Kinda like me" she said.

"…what?" he asked, confusion evident on his face. She opened up her chassis, and Tony's eyes fell on her glowing power core.

"We're kinda the same" she said.

"I've never seen anything like this…" he said as she closed her chassis.

"Neither have I. It's something that surpasses the knowledge of anyone I've met. Even your father" she said.

"Listen, it's time for all of us to go to bed. We have a long day in the morning, and we need some rest" Tony said.

"Well, what about me?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah. Well, I can offer you-" Tony said, but was cut off by Jingle's laughter.

"It's fine. As long as I have some sort of corner to lean against, I'm alright. It was pretty much like that during my stay with Stark, so it shouldn't be a problem now" she chuckled. Tony nodded slowly, as if a bit unsettled by the news.

"Okay, then pretty much anywhere's good. Well, goodnight" he said, and he left to his room.

\----------

Tony spent what felt like countless hours tossing and turning in his bed until the sun began to rise over the mountains. He figured that he should at least offer her his bed, since that's what a gentleman would do. He sighed, running his hand through his hair as he got up. After wiping off nonexistent dust from his pajamas, he proceeded to walk down the stairs.

As he looked toward his new robotic guest, he was surprised to see that she was sitting down, staring at a piece of paper. She turned to look at him as he walked closer, a small smile on her face.

"Still awake?" she asked.

"Well, I figured that I should've offered you my own bed or something. After all, new house guests and women shouldn't sleep on the floor. And you do qualify under both, I suppose" he said. She smiled.

"Thank you, but I'm alright here. Really. I prefer it like this" she said. He nodded, and sat next to her.

"So, what's that piece of paper about?" he asked. She looked down at the paper she was holding, and then offered it to him. He took it, and as he looked at it he realized that it was a draft card.

"Never thought I'd see one of these again. It's pretty old" he said.

"Yeah. I served in the war for a while. Your father taught me how to use a gun and sword, and he helped me suit up for battle. He helped me make my weapons, and he did manage to get a uniform for me too" she chuckled.

"Jingle Jubilee? That's really your name?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah. The name Jingle was given to me by Aranthur, and for a while I always assumed my last name was his, even though I didn't use it. I used to play music, and when I did, my best friend Bucky would say it was sort of like a jubilee. I figured it was what I wanted to bring to people's lives, merriment and celebrations of happiness. So I took on the name. By signing the draft card, I sort of made it legal" she said.

"Who's Bucky? Is he still alive?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No. The Captain was there when he fell down the mountainside, and he was the one who informed me of his death. Then, after the Captain died, that was when I decided to power down until you and Pepper found me" she said.

"The Captain? Wait…don't tell me Captain-"

"America" they both finished. Jingle looked at him.

"Wait…have you heard of him?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. You could say that. Well, time for bed" Tony said, heading toward the couch.

"Um, what are you doing?" she asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to stay here with you. And I don't wanna hear another word about it" he said.

"Fine, but don't complain to me when your back hurts or something in the morning" she said, and powered down. Tony was left all by himself in the living room, and he figured that it was time to make a call.

\----------

Tony woke up in the morning to find that Jingle was staring down at him with a large grin on her face. A grin that creepily reached all the way to her ears.

"Good morning, Anthony!" Jingle exclaimed. Tony smiled weakly and sat up, rubbing his neck.

"You okay?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No, I am not. My neck hurts pretty bad" he said, grimacing as his sore muscles ached.

"Aww, well who's fault is that?" she asked rhetorically as she skipped to the kitchen. His nostrils instantly caught the smell of breakfast.

"What's that smell? Are you cooking?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah! I wasn't sure if you usually ate breakfast or not, and I did do some cooking throughout my time, usually with not such good ingredients, I usually had to use what I had, since we always had rations in the war and such limited items in Etruria" she explained, running on.

"Thanks" he said, getting up and walking over to the kitchen. He sat down and Jingle set down a plate for him with eggs, bacon, sausage and ham. She turned back to the kitchen and he began to eat when there was a knock at the door.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., who is it?" he asked. A projected image of the camera appeared before him, and he quickly looked at it before he shut it off. Jingle turned to Tony.

"Want me to get the door?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Sure" he said. She walked over with a spatula in hand, reaching the door. She turned the handle, and as she looked up at the person, she gasped. The spatula fell to the floor with a clatter as Jingle's eyes began to water.

"C…Captain?"


	9. Chapter 9

"C…Captain?" she asked breathlessly, her hands covering her mouth as a small whimper caught in her throat. There stood Captain America, or Steve Rodgers. Wearing a simple white shirt under a grey sweater and some jeans, he looked not a day older than the last time she saw him.

"J-J…Jingle?" he asked. Jingle's hands balled into fists at her sides, and she spun on her heel before stomping over to Tony. She grabbed his shirt and lifted him up in the air, her eyes glowing with fury. He cringed inwardly.

"What kind of a sick joke is this, huh?" she hissed.

"What? This isn't a joke" he said.

"Of course it is! The Captain died a long time ago, and if this is some sick joke you're playing, I don't find it humorous whatsoever!" she growled, cocking her arm back. Suddenly, she felt fingers wrap around her arm and stop her.

"Jingle, don't do it! It's really me, Steve! Steve Rodgers!" he said, pulling her arm back. She instantly froze, recognizing the all-too-familiar touch of the Captain. Tony frantically began to speak.

"Listen, just hear me out. After you told me about knowing Cap, I gave him a call and asked him to come over. He agreed, even though I didn't give him an explanation, and I figured it'd be a nice surprise for you. Please don't hit me" he added at the end of his explanation. She huffed, steam escaping through her cheek vents. She set him down, clouds of steam occasionally puffing through her neck joints.

"Jingle. It's me. I'm alive" Steve said. Jingle turned to look at him, a smile breaking out onto her face.

"Now there's a familiar face I haven't seen for a long time" he said. She threw her arms around him, giggling.

"You're alive! It really is you!" she said with glee. He laughed and hugged her back before she stepped away, wiping oily tears away from her eyes.

"Thank you Anthony" she said, turning to Tony. He nodded, and she led Steve to the couch.

"Sit down, please. We have some catching up to do" she said. He smiled.

"Yeah. You know, I never thought I'd see a uniform like that again. Brings back memories" Steve said.

"Well, I haven't exactly been awake long enough to figure out another outfit. But enough about me, what's happened with you? How have you survived all this time without looking a day older?" she asked.

"Well, I was frozen. See, when I landed the plane, turns out I landed in the ocean and I froze over. I didn't wake up until S.H.I.E.L.D woke me up about a year ago." he explained.

"So, how has the world changed during our absence?" Jingle said, turning to Steve. He sighed.

"Everything is different. Cities and technology have evolved drastically, cultures and the norms of society have changed, and apparently there's now something called…wifi, I think it's called" Steve explained.

"Woah. Sounds cool. Can I go explore, Anthony? Please?" she asked. Tony shook his head.

"No. We wouldn't want you to go missing in such a big city" he said.

"I'll take her" Steve offered.

"You?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I pretty much know my way around" Steve said.

"Oh please, the only thing you could possibly know is the back of your hand, and I doubt you know even that" Tony mumbled. Jingle smacked him on the arm and shook her head as he winced and rubbed his arm.

"Fine, go. But contact me when you're coming home, that way I know to keep the door unlocked" he said. Jingle smiled and gave him a hug before walking out the door with Steve.

\----------

Jingle and Steve walked downtown, while all the while Jingle was getting stares from everyone walking past.

"Um, are people not used to robots or something? she asked.

"No, they kinda are, since some people entertain others and pose as robots and other creatures. But I don't know why they're staring" Steve explained. Then, a little boy ran up to Jingle.

"Hi lady! That's a really cool costume!" he said, smiling up at her.

"Oh, thank you" she said. Soon, a few others started to gather around her, and they all began to compliment her about a good job on her 'costume'. Some people took pictures, and one person asked if they were buskers.

"Mister, what are you suppose to be?" a little girl asked Steve. Jingle looked around, and then found some kind of gift shop building where all kinds of people were going in. She disappeared inside, and then came back out with a Captain America costume.

"Here you go, Cap! You can be Captain America, and we can pretend to be survivors from the war who were frozen/shut down until awoken in this new era!" she said, holding it out to him on the shield.

"Um, I am Captain America. And we are survivors from the war who were frozen/shut down until awoken in this new era" he said. She stared at him with a blank expression before smiling.

"Oh yeah! I forgot!" she said. She ushered him to go and change, and when he returned, he realized the suit fit him perfect. He also realized that it was practically identical to the suit he had during the war.

"Um, Jingle. Where exactly did you get this costume?" he asked.

"From that gift shop place over there!" she exclaimed. He turned to look at where she was pointing, and realized with growing horror that she was pouting at the New York World War 2 Museum.

"You mean you stole these from the museum!?" he whispered angrily.

"A museum? Oh…no, don't be silly! Anthony gave me money, so I bought it. They said they found this in the back room. They didn't seem to want it, so I'm sure they won't mind" she said. Right as she said that someone walked by and snapped a picture of them.

"Well, if you bought it, then I guess it's alright" he said.

"Now come on, let's have some fun, Captain!" she said, grabbing his arm and spinning him on his heel to face the small audience there. It was then that a man in a suit walked through the audience.

"Anthony! You're here!" Jingle said, leaping over and throwing her arms around Tony.

"Stark. What are you doing here?" Steve asked.

"Captain. What are you doing dressed like that out in the middle of broad daylight?" he asked.

"Touché" Steve said. Jingle tossed an arm around Tony's waist and threw the other arm around the Captain's waist. After all, she did only reach up to their shoulders. She wasn't very tall, after all.

"Wait…Iron Man and Captain America? So cool!" a man from the audience said as he snapped a picture.

"So, shall we go home now?" Tony asked as the other people began pulling out their cameras.

"Wait, we're leaving already?" Jingle asked. When Tony nodded, she practically lifted them up into her arms as she took off, racing down the street. All Steve and Tony could do was hold on for their lives, since they had never been in this kind of situation before. She ran until they reached Stark Tower, Jingle puffing steam as she slowed into a trot. She set them down and wheezed as the steam vents in her cheeks opened up and huffed steady little clouds of vapor.

"Well, at least we got away from those people" Steve said.

"And we got a ride for the way back" Tony added.

"Should we get her inside?" Steve asked, gesturing toward his robotic friend. Her engine was whirring at a rapid pace, while her photoreceptors were threatening to close.

"Yeah. Good idea" Tony said. The two of them lifted her up and entered the building, heading up the elevator and reaching Tony's home on the top floor. J.A.R.V.I.S. opened the door for them, and they quickly took her to the nearest couch. As they set her down, she sparked and twitched as she smiled up at them.

"T-T-Th-T-T-T-Than-nk y-you" she stuttered, her voice box morphing her words.

"Stark, get her some water" Steve said. Tony ran to the kitchen and poured her a glass of water.

"Here" he said, handing it to her. She took it and sipped as Steve and Tony watched on.

"T-T-T-Thank y-you. I'll be f-fine, I-I just needed a bit of w-water" she said, the sound of her boiler at work filling the room.

"What happened?" Tony asked.

"I've b-been out of active duty for quite some time, Anthony. Low water reserves, plus I need to get back in shape. Robots need maintenance, after all. I would think you of all people would know that, seeing as how you are a bit of a mechanical specialist, Iron Man" she chided as her engine resumed a normal pace.

"Yes, well, let me set you up with the spare room here. That way you can have your own privacy and whatnot" he said. He then left, leaving Steve and Jingle alone.

"You know, this reminds me of that time I found you in the woods. Remember?" Steve asked. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I remember. It was the day we lost Bucky" she said.

"It was also the day you decided not to play music anymore" he added. She nodded.

"And I stand firmly next to that decision" she said.

"Well you know, I found this a while ago. I decided to hang onto it at the time, but now I figured you might like to have it back. You know, for sentimental reasons" he said, and reached into his pocket. He placed the object in her hands, and as his hand pulled away, she saw that it was a small box. A small box that she hasn't seen in what felt like ages. Her collapsible lyre.

"Where…when…" she trailed off.

"I found it by your favorite tree, the one near the camp. I figured I'd hang onto it. I accidentally took it with me during the invasion against Hydra, and it remained with me since then. Well, until now, now that I'm returning it to its rightful owner" he said. She gripped it in her hands and clutched it to her chest, oil gathering in her eyes. She threw her arms around the Captain, smiling as she buried her face into his suit. He hugged her back as he regained his balance from the force behind her hug.

"Thank you so much!" she said. He looked down at her, and as a lovely warm feeling bloomed in his chest, he smiled as his arms tightened around her, ever so lightly.

"You're welcome" he whispered.

\----------

Tony stood at the doorway to Jingle's new room. He smiled as he figured she'd like her new room. After all, it had all a robot like her would need. And some new clothes. He grinned at his work, and he pivoted on his heel to rejoin Steve and Jingle in the living room. Before he took even one step, however, his eyes landed on the scene before him, where the Captain had a smile on his face and his arms around Jingle. Tony's reaction was immediate. His hands curled into fists at his side, and the grin on his face transformed into a grimace. It was about time to give a name to the feud between him and The Captain. Civil War.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You like that bit I did right there? "Civil War"? The Captain America movie that's coming out like next year or something, I don't remember right now (I'm not good with dates).


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so for those of you who were waiting for Aranthur's debut and the explanation as to what hapoened, here it is. It's pretty dumb, but at least it's something.

Jingle was holding Steve in her arms when she suddenly heard someone clear their throat from somewhere behind them. She pushed herself out of Steve's arms and found Tony standing in the doorway to a room off to the side, his arms crossed and his mouth set in a thin line.

"Hi Anthony. What is it?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just think it's a little late for Cap to be here, wouldn't you agree?" Tony asked, tapping his foot. She looked at the time, which read 9:30.

"Well, I suppose. If you say so" she said. She turned to the Captain.

"Want me to walk you home?" she asked. He shook his head and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"No, I'm alright. You just worry about feeling better, okay?" he asked. She nodded, and he placed his hand on her hair before ruffling it.

"Yes, sir!" she laughed, saluting him. He left, and she waved as the door closed behind him. She turned toward Tony, a frown on her face.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"What?" he asked.

"That! 'Oh, I just think it's a little late for the Captain to be here, don't you think?' That's what I'm talking about! Why are you being all mean?" she asked.

"Nothing. It was just getting late. I'm sure he has stuff to do tomorrow or something. And you, uh, you need your rest after your run today. After all, you said it yourself, you need to get back in shape, and robots need their maintenance" he said quickly.

"Hmm, I guess you're right. My bad" she said.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I have your room all set up for you. I hope you like it" he said. He motioned for her to follow him, and he led her to the room he was at earlier.

"This is your new room" he said.

As she stepped inside, she smiled. The room had a bed and a dresser, with a closet that had all kinds of new clothes for her. There was all kinds of gears and pieces of metal decorating the walls, and books of all kinds on a bookshelf to the side.

"Well, what do you think?" he asked. She turned to him.

"I love it. No one has ever done anything like this for me. Thank you" she said, hugging him. He looked down at her, and as a lovely warm feeling bloomed in his chest, he smiled as his arms tightened around her, ever so lightly.

"You're welcome" he whispered.

\---------

[Sir] J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke.

"What?! What is it?!" Tony yelled.

[There's a picture of you online] J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke.

"Really? Ooh, can we see it J.A.R.V.I.S.? Please?" Jingle asked, breaking away from Tony.

[Sir?] he asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever the lady wants" he said. J.A.R.V.I.S. understood as he pulled up an image. There was Jingle, standing in between Tony Stark and Captain America. She was grinning at the camera while Stark was unamused, Steve with a small smile.

"Look! It's us!" she giggled. Tony placed his arm over her shoulder and nodded.

"Yeah. It is" he said.

"You think anyone will see this?" she asked, looking up at him.

"I don't know, Jingle. I don't know" he said.

•••••••••••

Somewhere in a dark room, the same image appeared on a computer. Fingers typed at the keys as details of the image popped up, along with details on Tony Stark, the genius millionaire engineer.

"Could it be? The girl from our vision?" a feminine voice said. The copper-colored fingers of this person scratched at their cheek swirls before a pair of eyes (one green and one blue) glowed in the darkness. They narrowed and stared at the image before they widened.

"I've gotta go tell Petes right away".

•••••••••

Jingle sneezed. She rubbed her finger under her nose, sniffling.

"What was that about?" Tony asked.

"I don't know. I've never done that before" she said.

"A sneeze? You've never sneezed before?" Tony asked. She shook her head.

"Nope".

"Well, typically people sneeze because there's dust or other particles in their nose, and so it basically tries to get it out. But we humans also like to think its because someone's talking about you somewhere" he grinned.

"Hmm, maybe someone is talking about me! Cool!" she smiled.

"Hey Anthony, wanna help me pick out an outfit? I mean, not that I don't care for this army uniform, but I'm not exactly in it anymore" she said.

"Um, not really. You have a whole closet of clothes, and I'm hungry. And speaking of food, do you eat?" Tony asked.

"Yes. And no. I don't need it like you humans do, but my master built me to be able to eat if I wanted to. I can't really taste anything, but at least there's the feeling" she said.

"Oh, well alright. Want me to make you something?" he asked.

"No, I'm alright. And you shouldn't be eating this late, it's past your bedtime. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go try on some outfits!" she said, and skipped over to her room before closing the door.

"Fine, fine" he said, and headed over to the kitchen.

It wasn't until a while later, when Tony was almost done with his food, that Jingle came out of the room with some red satin pajamas on. She walked over to the table and sat down, scratching her arm.

"Itchy?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No, I feel my bronze beginning to bother me, so I'll have to oil it later before I go to bed" she said. He raised an eyebrow. She sighed.

"I'm not quite sure how I know, but I just know when the bronze feels…off. It happens every once in a while. Ever since my bronze was melded with the vibranium adamantium, it's done that, so every once in a while I have to oil it to keep it good and durable" she explained.

"Yeah…well, um, let's get to bed" he said, picking up his plate and placing it in the sink.

"Okay, sure. Goodnight!" she said. She walked over and gave him a hug from behind before skipping over to her room.

Tony stood by the sink, relishing the feel of her embrace. He made his way to his room and went about his nightly routine, donning his pajamas (a cotton shirt and some shorts) and slipped under the covers for the night, the only visible light being the light blue glow of his chest plate.

Placing his arms behind his head, he replayed the memories he had of her. The feeling he felt when he held her in his arms, and when he felt hers around him. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was about her, but he knew that somehow, he cared about her. He thought about whether or not he cared about he as girlfriend material. No, because Pepper was sort of in that category. Well them what was it? He got up and paced around his room, practically tugging at his hair for the answer. He must've been a little too loud, because a little while later there was a knock on his door.

"Anthony? Are you alright?" Jingle's voice asked. He walked over and opened his door, coming face to face with her. She was staring up at him, a clearly worried expression on her face.

"No. Well, yes. Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a little too much on my mind right now" he said. After all, he didn't want to worry her.

"Want to talk about it? Maybe it'll help" she suggested. He shook his head.

"No. I'm alright. I'm sure I'll fall asleep real soon. Now let's get you back to bed" he said. She nodded, and he led the way back to her room. He sat next to the bed as she snuggled under the covers, and he tucked her in.

"Goodnight" she said. He smiled at her, and as she went into stasis mode, he realized something. He realized that he had begun to see her as like a younger sister. He pondered about this on his way back to his room. A little sister? Yeah, that would explain everything. Feeling angry when Steve hugged her, the feeling he got when she was in his arms or whenever she was near him. It all made sense. It wasn't anything romantic, it was having the feeling of family. As he nestled under the covers and his eyes began to close, he smiled.

\----------

Jingle entered her rom and closed the door, climbing under the covers and sitting in her bed. She opened up her chest cavity and pushed aside some objects until reaching her power core. She reached behind it and pulled out a small silver urn.

There in the urn were some ashes of someone she cared very deeply for. Her inventor, Aranthur.

She placed it on the bedside table and watched it as she snuggled down into her bed. She smiled and placed a hand on the side of it before she closed her eyes to sleep.

As soon as she did, she felt a weird sense of vertigo. The world blurred before her eyes and spun until stopping. She found herself standing back at her home in Etruria. However, she was sort of see-through, sort of transparent. She saw as someone came running out of her home, and as her eyes honed in on the familiar red clavi he wore. Aranthur. Suddenly, another man ran out of the house, armed with a dagger. She watched as Aranthur tripped, practically clawing at the ground to try and drag himself away. The man caught up with him, and as he forced his dagger upwards toward her inventor, she shut her eyes.

When she reopened them, she found herself holding Aranthur in her arms. The attacker was nowhere to be found, and in her hands was the dagger, the end covered in a red substance. Blood. Her eyes focused on the strange symbol at the hilt. At the time was of little importance, but now it was one of the most recognizable symbols she had ever laid eyes on. Hydra. She threw the dagger over the cliffiside into the ocean, and she pulled Aranthur close to her.

"Oh, father…what have they done to you? Why..." she trailed off, tears in her eyes.

"Jingle…I built you to be free and happy…Hydra got word of you, somehow…they wanted you to serve their purposes, and they wanted me to create more…I couldn't do that to you…I was never able to see you again, but I hoped that'd I'd be able to see you one more time… I know you will find happiness wherever your life takes you…I will always be with you, no matter where you are…goodbye, my daughter…" he said. He released one final breath, and he became a bright blue ball of light before becoming one with her core.

Suddenly, she was whirled away to wind up in the middle of a war-torn battlefield. The sky was dark, and huge explosions made the very ground tremble. Barbed wire and wooden fences occupied the field, and trenches on both sides held each faction of the war. An all-too familiar sound reached her ears as she saw a tank from the right side fire in her direction. She drew her sword, ready to slice through it, when it passed through her without any effort. Huh. So she was practically invisible. However, she still didnt feel like standing out in the open. After all, if Aranthur had seen her, then maybe, just maybe, someone else could too. She hid behind a small pile of dirt and examined the battlefield. She saw tanks from the left side fire at the right side, and even before the explosions hit, two soldiers from the left side jumped over their barricade and launched themselves into the heavily armored no-man's land. They approached where she was, then suddenly, one of them, the shorter one, tripped and fell.

"Rabbit, you need to learn to balance yourself better" one deep voice said.

"B-But The S-S-Spine…I don't wan-n-n-na" a higher-pitched yet similar voice said. She stepped back a bit, but somehow, stepped on a stick and broke it. She turned and glared at the stick, then turned back to come face-to-face with two human soldiers. Except, they weren't human. They were robots.

One was a tall silver robot, and he appeared to be made out of some sort of titanium alloy. The other robot, somewhat smaller than the other one, was made of copper, with green oxidation appearing around various parts of his face. The two were wearing army uniforms that were very similar to her own.

"Spine…do you see what I see?" Rabbit asked, eyes open wide as he tugged on the silver robot's sleeve. The Spine nodded.

"Yes, Rabbit. Yes I do" he said. The three robots stared at one another until suddenly Jingle felt a tug at her core. The Spine was the first to lunge forward. Jingle reached out, and her fingers almost reached The Spine's. However, the last thing she saw were his fingers passing through her own before the very world faded into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, lookie! More robots! I'm sure we all know who they are, but if not, check out the band Steam Powered Giraffe. They're like the most amazing band ever!


	11. Chapter 11

She powered up with a start. What was that dream all about? Of course, Aranthur had been killed by Hydra. After all, she had found the Hydra symbol on the dagger that pierced his chest, but she was never able to see him alive again. She had only been able to find him, already still, with the dagger by his side. But other robots? No, that couldn't be. Not in the war. Otherwise she would've seen them. Unless they had been somewhere else. She had powered down and been out away, but the war hadn't ended. Could it be there had been others? Had Stark met with them? And if they were real, who could've created them? Rabbit…The Spine…Her thoughts were broken as her audio input tuned to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She got up and shuffled over to the door, running a hand through her wiry hair. She opened the door, and found her favorite engineer standing there. She was surprised, however, to find that he was in his suit with his briefcase and a stuffed animal in his hand. Upon closer inspection she found it was a little grey giraffe plush.

"What is it, Anthony?" she asked.

"Oh nothing, I was just wondering whether you could hold down the fort for a couple of days. Pepper and I have some business arrangements, and I really can't back out of this" he explained. She nodded.

"Yeah, of course! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. After all, I've done it lots of times. Besides, I could probably invite the Captain, and he can keep me company" she said. Tony nodded.

"Fine, but please take care of yourself. Feel free to use whatever you want, except for, let's see…some cars, my suits, any of my personal things…oh, and don't throw any parties, set something on fire…just, be good, okay?" he asked. She nodded and grinned.

"What's with the little giraffe?" she asked, gesturing to the little stuffed animal. He looked down at his hand and handed the little grey giraffe plush to her.

"Oh…well um, it's uh…it's for you" he said, looking away with flushed cheeks as he held it out to her. She took it, a small smile on her face.

"How cute! It's adorable" she said.

"It was a present from my father. We went on a trip to Africa when I was a kid, and he bought it for me as a way to remember that memory. That, and a picture that was somewhere around here, I guess. So uh, I wanted to give it to you" he said.

"Really? Why?" she asked.

"Well, because you're…you're like a…" he trailed off.

"What? I'm like a what?" she teased, poking him in the belly. He dropped his suitcase and pushed away at her hands.

"Nothing, forget i-"

"Come on…"

"No, I don't wanna-"

"Come on!" she smiled, poking him in the belly again. He shoved her hands away and practically stomped in place, mumbling.

"Fine, fine! A little sister! You're like a little sister to me! Happy?" he asked. She smiled.

"Aww! Thank you. No one's ever said anything like that to me before" she said, smiling up at him. He mumbled, cheeks tinted pink all the while. Taking her in his arms, he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and ran out the door, waving as he did so. Now, she was all alone.

"Now what?" she asked herself. She changed into a simple white t-shirt and jeans before deciding to head down somewhere she hadn't explored before. The basement. She opened the door and headed downstairs, her eyes becoming a sort of flashlight to light her way. (A/N: ever see the movie "robots"? They do that. If not, just think of them like two big ol' flashlights. Okay, back to the story)

When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she found her old resting place. She expected to find it here, since Tony did find her there. What she didn't expect to see though, was a large yet extinguished forge in the wall and workbenches, as if this had been some sort of metalworking shop. She remembered when she would watch Aranthur work at his shop, and all the thing he used to create. Of course, he could never power them like he did with her, but they were still something.

Walking around the cold furnace, she ran her hand across the tiled frame, observing the metals and materials strewn around. She looked at the small giraffe plush in her hand, and held it close to her.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

She turned and placed the small plush on the table behind her. Opening her mouth, she blasted a wave of fire into the furnace, lighting what was left of the coals. As she pumped the bellows and watched the coals glow in the darkness, she put on a blacksmith's apron. Suddenly, she felt a tingle by her core, and so she opened up her chassis. There was a small light right beside her core, and she held Aranthur's ash urn in her hand, when suddenly it transformed. In her hands she found a small metal core, similar to her own but smaller. As she picked it up, she could've sworn she felt a pair of arms around her before the feeling disappeared. A vision of Aranthur flashed before her eyes, and it was then that she knew this was Aranthur. Somehow. She remembered how Aranthur had disappeared inside her core in her dream, and this only reassured her conclusion. Holding the core in her hand, she smiled before returning to the forge.

••••••••••

Steve knocked on Tony's door. Usually him and Jingle would keep in touch often, but it had been a few days since she had last contacted him. He was starting to worry.

The doorknob twisted, and the door opened the reveal a very dirty and grimy robot standing in the doorway.

"Oh, Captain! I wasn't expecting you. What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I just came I check up on you. I got worried" he said.

"Oh, well sorry about that. I was just working on a project of mine, and I guess I lost track of the time" she said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"A…project?" he inquired. She nodded.

"Yeah, come on in! He's almost done, and if all goes well…well, you'll see" she grinned. She led Steve to the basement door, and she gestured for him to go down. He did, and the more he went down, the more he could see. As he reached the bottom, he looked around and found the source of light, which was the bright fire of the furnace. He found tht in the middle of the room was a small object. He couldn't quite see what it was, but he saw that it resembled some kind of four-legged animal. Jingle followed right behind him, and she walked over to the table. There he saw a small grey plush in the shape of a giraffe. However, there were small metal hooves on the bottom, photoreceptors replaced the eyes, and it had a small metal chest cavity. From the opening of the chassis you could see the boiler and the bellows, while on its back were small vents where the steam would apparently escape from. It had two little metal horns sprouting from its head with round knobs at the top of them, while it had two little ears on the sides of its head. All in all, it appeared to be a fully-functioning automaton like her, the only difference being it remained part plushy.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Just wait and see. Hopefully it works…" she trailed off. Wiping the condensation from her brow, she reached into her chassis and pulled out a small metal core. She placed it inside the metal body and closed its chassis.

"Gaskets, please, let it work…" she whispered, reaching out to touch her creation. As she did, a jolt of blue electricity jumped from her own core to the other. The machine powered up with a tremble running through its chassis.

Jingle and Steve bent over the table, waiting for any reaction from the small robot. Suddenly, the small giraffe's photoreceptors powered up, its blue aperture (the iris) glowing with light as the mechanical lens (the pupil) expanded and contracted. The legs began to move, and the engine thrummed as air began to pump through the bellows. The jaw moved up and down, and the tail and ears began to twitch. Jingle broke out into a smile, and she turned to Steve, bouncing in place.

"Oh my gears! He's actually alive! I actually did it!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, you really did" Steve said, too shocked to say anything else. The little giraffe was beginning to vocalize and cry out as it gained movement.

"Gaskets, he needs help" she said, immediately rushing over and tending to the little giraffe, which was now identified as a he. She turned his head to look at her, cooing at him. He locked his gaze on her and began to cry out to her. She smiled and ran her hand along his side, comforting him.

"Do you want to get up?" she asked. He nodded, and she grabbed onto his body before hoisting him up, holding him just above the tabletop. Setting him down gently, he stood up for a bit. He smiled up at her before his legs began to tremble and he collapsed, his legs splayed out from under him. Crooning up at her, he attempted it a couple more times before he sat with his legs folded under him.

"I'm sure that's enough for you for one day. After all, you just came online" she said, reaching back and scratching him behind the ear. He leaned into it, humming with pleasure as he closed his eyes.

"So, what are you gonna name him?" Steve asked.

"That's an easy one. Aranthur. Like my father" she said without hesitation.

"Does Stark know about this?" he asked. She shook her head.

"He doesn't. But I think he's due to come home in a few days, so he'll find out soon enough" she said.

"Can he talk?" he asked.

"Well, I suppose he can. I programmed him to be able to, after all" she said.

"Interesting. You know, I think we should take him upstairs. That way he's not confined down here to the basement" he said.

"That's a good idea. Say, would you mind watching him while I clean myself up? I haven't really left this place for days, and if I don't clean off this grime soon, I'm afraid it might ruin my metal" she said.

"Yeah, sure. You take your time, I'll be watching him" he said. They headed upstairs, Jingle holding Aranthur as they reached the living room. Steve sat down at the couch, and she placed Aranthur in his arms before disappearing into her room and closing the door.

Steve looked down at Aranthur, who looked up at him.

"Hi there" he said. Aranthur tilted his head and mewled.

"Want to try and stand up again? Or would you rather stay down?" he asked. Aranthur shook his head and lifted his hind legs, raising his hips into the air. Steve took it as a sign to help him, so he grabbed onto Aranthur's body and lifted him up. Aranthur stood on his hooves as his legs trembled, looking down at them as if to ask why they weren't standing him up. He began to fall forward, but luckily Steve was able to catch him. Aranthur pushed away at his hands with his snout, and his brow furrowed in concentration as he focused on standing. Stumbling for a few steps, he cried out, but then he bleated as he began to take steady steps. Soon, he was prancing around the room, his tail wagging as he crooned happily.

The door to Jingle's room opened, and she came out with a clean set of clothes. She was wearing a red and black vertical-striped shirt, with a skirt that sat at her waist. It was held up with a pair of black suspenders, and she wore a bow under the collar. She wore leggings very similar in color to her shirt, and some black boots.

She walked into the living room, and saw how Aranthur was prancing around the room. She crouched and extended her arms out to him.

"Oh my gears, look at you! You're doing so good!" she said as he scampered over to her and into her arms. She embraced him as he turned his mouth upward in a smile. Rubbing behind his ears, she pet him with one hand as he nuzzled into the other.

"I'm so proud of you!" she said. Steve watched as Aranthur curled up and began to drift off into sleep mode, so she picked up her little bot and went to go sit next to him, placing the giraffe on her lap.

"You've really taken to him" he commented. She nodded.

"I suppose so. There's just something about him, that makes me feel so happy inside. It's…it's sort of like if my inventor is here with me…" she said, rubbing the bot's back.

"Maybe he is, Jingle. Maybe he is" Steve said.

••••••••••

Jingle woke up, the light streaming in through her windows. Feeling some movement next to her, she looked down and saw Aranthur's little horns peeking out from under the blankets. She smiled.

Aranthur had apparently decided to sneak into her bed instead of sleeping in the little dog bed she had gotten ready for him. She chuckled, tucking the blankets in around him. Giving him a kiss on the forehead, she carefully maneuvered around him until he was the only one out of the two left in her bed. Wearing her maroon pajamas, she slugged into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of keys unlocking the door. Turning, she saw the door open before seeing Tony walk in.

"Anthony! You're home!" she yelled, running over to hug him.

"Yeah. Pepper and I managed to settle a deal, and so I came right home. And let me tell you, it's great to be home again" he said, loosening his tie as he set down his briefcase.

"Glad to have you back. But I have to say, we're not the only ones here anymore" she said. He stopped, turning to look at her.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confusion on his face. Suddenly, the door to Jingle's room opened, and the sound of hooves on the floor resounded through the room as Aranthur clopped over to them. Tony took a step back.

"Um, Jingle, what is that?" he asked. She scooped Aranthur up in her arms as he turned to look up at Tony.

"Anthony, meet Aranthur. Aranthur, meet Anthony Stark. Aranthur is a little giraffe I built over the past few days" she said, introducing the two to each other. Aranthur yawned, and after rubbing his eyes with his little hooves, smiled at Tony.

"Does he…understand us?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yes. I had actually programmed him to be able to speak, but I suppose it just hasn't set in yet. And in a way, he is a baby after all" she said as he nuzzled into the crook of her neck.

"Wait a minute…isn't that the giraffe plush I gave you?" he asked.

"Um, maybe?" she laughed hesitantly.

"Oh, well okay" he said.

"Care to hold him?" she asked. He looked at the little giraffe, watching as he wagged his tail.

"Sure" he said. She placed Aranthur in his arms and stepped back, leaving Tony to hold Aranthur. The little bot looked up at Tony and mewled.

"Well, he's cute, I'll give you that" Tony said. Aranthur huffed, steam trailing from the vents on his back.

"Yeah. He seems to like you. Then again, he's also a little sleepy" she chuckled.

"Wait, wasn't the name of your inventor Aranthur?" he asked.

"Yes. Aranthur's core was apparently created with the ashes of my inventor, somehow" she said.

"Oh, well alright, I guess. As much as I love to hold him, I'm starving. Care for some breakfast?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No, I'm alright. Are you hungry, Aranthur?" she asked. He shook his head as well.

"No, we're alright. We'll just spend some time in the living room while you have your breakfast" she said. Tony nodded, and as he stepped into the kitchen, Jingle led Aranthur to the living room.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Don't you worry, I got it" Jingle said. She walked over to the door as Tony watched her from behind the counter. As she turned the doorknob, she couldn't explain the strange feeling of excitement she got in her gut.

As the door opened, she came face-to-face with a man. Or at least, she figured it was a man, since she couldn't see his face. After all, it was covered by a wooden mask with a black keyhole painted in the center.

"We've finally found you".


	12. Chapter 12

She took a step back as Tony hurried over to her side.

"Welcome! I'm so glad you're here. Please, come in" Tony said to the man. The stranger stepped inside, and this allowed Jingle to get a better look at him.

This man was fair-skinned and had blonde hair, with a horizontal black-and-white striped shirt. He had some blue jeans on, with a brown trenchcoat and a cane the same as his shirt.

He followed Tony to the couch who gestured for the masked man to sit down. He did, placing his hand on his cane and leaning forward. Tony then motioned for Jingle to sit down next to him, but she stood behind the couch.

"Jingle, I'd like you to meet Peter A. Walter VI. He's a businessman from San Diego" Tony said. She looked at him, and he dipped his head in greeting. She curtsied to him in response.

"Hello, Mr. Walter. It is a pleasure to meet you" she said.

"There's no need to speak to me so formally. Call me Peter. Same for you, Tony. I've told you this before, after all" he said.

"Jingle, come sit next to me. I have to talk to you" Tony said. She inched around the sofa and sat close to her friend.

"What is it? Why is he here?" she asked.

"He's here to see you. See, I met Peter on the so-called "business trip". He explained to me how what was here in my home was more precious than what I could ever imagine. That you weren't just a machine, that you were sentient and as real as him or me. I mean, I already knew this, of course. But anyway, he asked me if I could arrange for you to meet him, and I said he could come down here and meet you for himself" he explained. She turned to look at Peter.

"You look pretty good for being quite ancient. Except for that small scar on your left eye" he said, indicating a scratch that went from the middle of her forehead to her cheek.

"Oh, yeah. I was working a table saw the other day, and apparently I wasn't prepared for the kick behind it. Luckily I don't think it damaged my eye or anything" she explained.

"You know, I didn't notice it before until now" Tony said.

"But, what is it that you want? Surely there's something, since you wanted to see me" she said. Peter pulled out a picture from his pocket.

"Have you ever wondered whether or not there were others like you? Whether you were not the only free-willed automaton in existence?" he asked.

"Well, to be honest, I have. I suppose I've just always assumed that I was the only one. After all, we would've crossed paths. But…" she trailed off. Peter leaned forward.

"What is it?" he asked, reaching to take her hand. She made no move to stop him.

"I had a strange dream this morning…I was on some sort of battlefield, and to my surprise I find two robots there. One was silver and another was copper. Their names…their names were Rabbit…and The Spine…" she said.

"It wasn't a dream" Peter said. She looked up at him, confused.

"It wasn't?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No. You somehow witnessed a chapter of their lives. My ancestors were alive at the time, and they were around when the robots were shipped off to war. Their very existence means that you are not as alone as you once believed. There are other robots. And I would like you to meet them" he said.

"What? You mean they really do exist? I didn't just dream them up?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No, you didn't. They are very much real, and I'm sure they'll be glad to know about you. I haven't informed any if the robots of your existence yet" he said. She looked at him, and then at Tony.

"I'd…I'd be honored…but, I can't leave Tony. It wouldn't be right" she said.

"Yes. Well, I understand" Peter said. Suddenly, he found that he felt something tugging on the hem of his pants. He looked down to find Aranthur chomping down into his jeans.

"Well what do we have here?" he asked. Jingle stared sternly at the young calf, but all he did was tug harder. Peter pulled out a small metal nut from his coat and gave it to Aranthur, who happily chewed on it.

"I'm sorry about that. Aranthur, meet Peter Walter. Peter, I'd like you to meet Aranthur" she said. Peter placed a hand on the spot between Aranthur's horns and scratched. He watched on as Aranthur's ears twitched but gave not much more of a response.

"Hmm, sensory cables aren't as finely done as the others…but well, overall. Who designed him?" he asked. Jingle raised her hand.

"I did" she said.

"He's wonderful. Quite adorable too, I might add. He's probably right on par with GG" he said.

"Um…GG?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah. You'll meet her soon enough" Peter said.

"Wait…I haven't even decided if I was gonna go, much less consider your offer!" she said, appalled at his statement. Tony walked over to her.

"Jingle, listen to me. It's for the best" Tony said.

"But…" she began to say, but was cut off as Tony placed a finger in her silicone lips.

"No, no buts. You need to be with others like you. You need to find out where you really belong. I'll always be here whenever you need me to be, and if that doesn't work, I have a house in California, so I could probably drop by or vice versa. But you need to do this" he said as Aranthur ran over to him before he scooped him up in his arms.

She looked at the both of them, and then turned to Peter.

"Very well. I'll do it" she said.

\---------

Jingle was packing her clothes into a suitcase while Aranthur sat on the bed.

"You know buddy, this could be a new start for us" she said. He wagged his tail, the metal rod and wires creating an audible thump against the covers.

Jingle's ears then caught the sound of some strange sort, like a steady thrum or vibration of some sort. She turned and saw Aranthur's face scrunched up in determination, his mouth pursed in a straight line. She then realized that the sound was coming from him.

"Mmmmmmmm…mmmaaaa…" he struggled to say. She stopped everything, stepping over to him.

"What is it? Are you…are you trying to speak?" she asked.

"Mmmmaaaammm…maa-maa…mammm…" he said, stumbling over the words.

"Come on…I know you can do it…" she encouraged him.

"M…mama!" he said, raising his hooves in the air. A toothy grin broke out into her face before she took him into her arms.

"You did it! Oh I just knew you could do it!" she said, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Aranthur did it!" he yelled, giggling. She picked him up and spun him around before bringing him close and into her arms.

"You did it…I love you, Aranthur" she said, giving him a kiss on his snout. He beamed up at her.

"Aranthur loves you too, mama".

\---------

Jingle, holding Aranthur in her arms, stood outside the Stark building. Peter was standing next to her while Tony and Steve were standing in front of them. Tony had called Steve and explained to him what was going on, so he had raced down here to say farewell to her.

Her luggage was all packed in the car, and all that was left was to say goodbye.

"I'm going to miss having you around" Tony said.

"And I'm going to miss seeing you. I'm never going to forget the first time we met" she said. Tony chuckled.

"Neither will I. Now don't you forget to call me and keep me informed about how you're doing over there" he said, waving a finger at her. She smiled.

"I won't. I'll make sure to check in and report with you, Mr. Stark" she said grinning as she mock-saluted him. He laughed before walking towards her. Aranthur, seeing a hug coming, climbed onto her shoulder to drape around her neck. As she wrapped her arms around Tony, Aranthur also wrapped his little hooves around Tony's neck.

"Bye bye, uncle Tony" he said. Tony reached up and patted him on the head.

"Bye. You and I didn't get to know each other very long, but it was nice having you around" he said. Aranthur's optics began to gather oil as he sniffled.

Steve stepped up and hugged Jingle, bringing her close to him.

"I'm gonna miss you" he said.

"I'm gonna miss you too. You're one of my best friends" she said.

"And you're mine. You know, if you ever wanna reminisce or just talk, you can always call me, you know" he said.

"Yeah. I know. And don't forget, we always have to get together for Bucky's anniversary" she reminded him.

"Yeah. I'll head down to San Diego personally if that's what it takes" he said, letting go of her. She smiled.

"It's a deal" she said. Aranthur let go of Tony's neck, and after giving him a quick nuzzle, reached out to Steve, who picked him up an out of Tony's arms.

"Bye uncle Captain. Aranthur will miss you" he said. Steve chuckled at the name the little bot had given him, and scratched him behind the ear.

"Steve will miss you too" he responded, wiping away the oily tears that had gathered in the robot's optics. Steve held Aranthur out, and the little giraffe climbed back onto Jingle's shoulders.

"Well, I think it's time that we started heading home. Goodbye, Mr. Stark. Well see you soon, I hope?" Peter asked. Tony nodded. "Good. Now let's get going. The sooner, the better" Peter said.

The Walter van was a large white one, with darkened windows and able to carry eight passengers. There was a large insignia of the Walters' on the side, a large white W, with blue lines descending from the top, and a blue triangle with a lock-shaped hole eerily similar to Peter's mask underneath the large letter.

Peter, Jingle and Aranthur climbed into the van, where Jingle saw that there was a man sitting in the driver's seat.

He was a man, about late 20's, with brown hair in dreadlocks and brown eyes. He had a mustache and a goatee. Tied to his belt was a small little sackboy that closely resembled him.

"Jingle, Aranthur, this is Steve Negrete, one of the company's workers. Steve, this is Jingle Jubilee, a fellow robot, and her giraffe, Aranthur, her invention. Steve's usually the one who does all the driving, so he'll be driving us back to Walter Manor" Peter explained.

"Hello, Steve. It's nice to meet you" she said, holding out her hand. He took it and shook.

"Nice to meet ya, Jingle" he smiled.

"Well, shall we get started?" Peter asked Steve, who nodde before starting the car. Jingle looked through the window and saw Tony and Steve, who waved goodbye at her. Tears leaking from her eyes, she waved goodbye in return as they pulled away and drove off.

She waved until she couldn't see them anymore, then turned in her seat and clutched Aranthur close to her.

"It's alright. It's not goodbye forever. They'll be able to visit whenever they want" Peter said.

"I know" she sniffled. "It's just…gaskets, it's hard" she said. Peter placed a hand on her shoulder while Aranthur looked up at her. His ears folded back and he placed his little hooves against her cheeks.

"Aranthur doesn't like seeing mama sad…" he said, nuzzling into her neck. She wiped away her tears as she sheltered him in her embrace.

"It's okay. Mama's okay" she cooed, rubbing his neck as he purred underneath her fingers. As she held him, his eyes began to close slowly and slowly until eventually he was asleep in her arms. Snoring lightly, his engine dulled to a slight thrum.

"He really loves you" Peter said. She looked up at him, and then back down to her invention. No, not her invention. More like, her baby.

"And I love him. I start to feel almost complete when he's near" she said.

"Almost?" Peter asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah. Like, there's still some things missing. But I'm not sure what" she said.

"Well, I hope you find what's missing soon" he said.

"So, how long does it take to get to this, San Diego?" she asked.

"Well, um, about 40 hours" he said.

"…40 hours? That's a lot" she said.

"But not compared to being trapped inside a coffin for all those years, is it?" he asked. She chuckled and shook her head.

"No, it's not" she said.

"Of course, you're always welcome to shut down for the time being, and I can power you up once we get there" he said.

"You know, that sounds like a good idea" she said. Looking down at Aranthur and giving him a kiss on the forehead, she reached behind her neck to a switch. She looked at Peter, and as her fingers flipped the switch, the world went dark.


	13. Chapter 13

Jingle found herself alone. She was sitting in the Walter van, but there was no one in sight. Suddenly, the world turned dark, and she found herself in the middle of a vast savannah.

All around her were the sounds of battle. Standing in a field, she could only hear as weapons fired, various projectiles she could only guess were bullets zoomed past her. Explosions broke in the air, and she saw how the dark sky swirled with ominous clouds. Tears threatened to gather in her eyes as she curled into a ball, trembling as she shut her eyes.

She didn't want to be here. She'd rather be anywhere than here. War scared her. Of course, she battled for the cause during World War II, but she hadn't been thrilled about it. She did her job, and she only incapacitated her opponents. But once she lost Bucky and Steve, she stopped. She resigned to the world and powered down for a time inside a large sarcophagus designed especially for her. As her thoughts and mind were lost to time itself, somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she came to a sort of epiphany. The very thing she had participated in had became something she abhorred and despised with every fiber of her being. However, her mind had went into stasis after that, and she hadnt thought about the war since then. Until now.

She felt movement around her, and she looked up to find giraffes galloping past her, hooves causing the very ground to move with their power. Her trembling slowly lessened the more the ground shook beneath her, and soon she found that the tremors had died down until being replaced by peace. She gained control of her body once again, and as she stood up, her audio input tuned to the sound of a familiar voice.

"Am…ma…mama!" the voice said. She looked around, and her gaze halted when she found Aranthur running toward her.

"Mama!" he cried out. She had never been happier to see anyone so dear to her. Her feet pushed against the ground, pushing her into a jog. The jog turned into a run, and faster than she could blink, he was in her arms.

"Mama! Wake up! Wake up, mama!" he said.

••••••••••  
"Mama, wake up! We're here!" Aranthur's voice said, breaking through her shutdown mode. She jumped, skin crawling as she wiped away some tears.

"Mama? Are you okay?" Aranthur asked. She nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine" she said. She pulled him against her, trying to ward off the bitter cold of her subconscious war memories.

She looked outside to find themselves outside of a city, the only thing visible for miles being a large Manor-type building. Soon, they approached the large building and pulled into the driveway.

"Peter? Where exactly are we?" she asked once she had relaxed.

"We're in a little place I like to call home. Welcome to Walter Manor" he said.

It was a large manor, with various towers protruding from the top. There was a large pipe that sprung from the left side of the house and arched downwards before disappearing underground. Towers of all sorts of shapes and sizes rose from the roof and sides. All in all, it was a very eccentric and odd place to be.

"This is your home?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yep. Steve, do you mind helping her with her bags?" Peter asked. Steve shook his head and got out of the car, opening the back doors and removing her stuff from the van.

"Steve, it's alright. I can handle my own luggage, but thank you very much for wanting to help" she said. She stepped out of the car, and she gave Aranthur a kiss on the forehead before he clambered up to her shoulders.

She was about to grab her luggage when a hand grabbed her wrist.

"Jingle, I can't allow you to do that. Otherwise, how am I gonna show you around the house?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Oh. But-"

"No buts. Come on" he said, holding out his arm to her. She took it, and the two proceeded to walk into the Manor. There was no door, and as she walked through the doorway, she noticed that they were standing in a large living room. Peter gestured to a stairway on the left, and the two (or three, can't forget about Aranthur) made their way up the stairs. Heading down all sorts of twists and turns of various hallways and countless doorways, they found themselves at a room that was almost at the end of the hallway. This room was on the right hand side, with a large door with the letters "H.O.W" to the left of it.

"This is your room. I hope you find it comfortable" he said. She walked in, and she looked around. There was a bed, a dresser, closet, and a window to look outside.

"It's certainly cozy. Yes, I think it'll do just nicely. What do you think, Aranthur?" she asked.

"Aranthur likes it!" he said, wagging his tail.

"Oh, and feel free to decorate any way you wish. However you feel comfortable" Peter said.

"Thank you" she smiled.

"So, I'm sure you'd like a while to get used to your surroundings. I'll just leave you two alone, and if you need anything, just let me know" he said, and left. She sat down on the bed and Aranthur jumped off her shoulders to sit next to her.

"So…looks like this is our new home" she said to him. He looked up at her, tilting his head as she stroked his back. Suddeny, Peter peered in from around the corner.

"I had forgotten that I set up a little get together with the other robots, so you could meet them. Care to join them down in the living room?" he asked.

"Sure. After all, that's why we came here, isn't it?" she chuckled. Aranthur hopped down off the bed and trotted after Jingle and Peter, who made their way to the living room.

There Jingle found four robots standing there.

One was a silver robot, the one she had seen in her dream. The Spine. Here he seemed to have some spinal ridges emerging from his back. Instead of an army uniform, he was wearing a black vest which sat upon a black shirt, the various little pieces such as the shirt cuffs, buttons and trim a red color. His vest segmented into various joints, and he wore some black pants. His green eyes were the color of emerald, and they widened as he gazed upon her.

The other was who she guessed was Rabbit, but it wasn't the Rabbit she remembered. This Rabbit was a girl, and she was wearing a black dress with striped leggings and a small hat, where a pair of brass goggles sat atop its brim. Her boiler plate sat upon her chest, with red glowing through the three glass pieces of it. Around her waist was a corset with a belt around the middle. Her arms were covered in a sort of garment identical in pattern to her leggings, and on her arms were a pair of gloves with wrist gauntlets. Her face was not made from copper as she remembered, but instead it was a porcelain white in color. Pink hair framed her face, and she had pigtails that reched the back of her neck. Rabbit had had a smile on her face, but it slipped as she too gazed upon her.

The third robot was an Art Deco robot, made from iron. His most prominent feature was a bright orange mustache, which curled at the ends. He wore glasses, and he had on a bowler hat. He had black pants, and in the center of his sideways-buttoning vest was a large circular glass piece that glowed blue, a bit similar to Tony's.

The last robot was a fairly large robot giraffe, about two to three times the size of Aranthur. It had glowing blue eyes, eyelashes which probably meant that it was a girl. She had two horns atop her head, and her neck was riveted with metal pieces that were all connected by black fabric. She and Aranthur watched each other, tilting their heads.

"Jingle, I'd like you to meet The Spine, Rabbit, Hatchworth and GG. Walters, I'd like you to meet Jingle Jubilee and her child, Aranthur" he said, introducing them to one another. The Spine was the first to step forward, reaching out for her hand as he did in her dream. The moment their fingers touched, a spark like lightning shot through them.

"It's you…the woman we saw during the war…" he said. Rabbit stepped forward and examined her.

"It is you…it wasn't just some weird malfunction after all. Told ya, Spine" she said, looking at him with her hands on her hips.

"Yes…well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, ms. Jubilee" he said, raising her hand to his lips and giving it a light kiss.

"Just referring to me by Jingle is fine, Mr. Walter" she teased.

"The Spine is fine for me" he said, smiling. She turned to Rabbit.

"It's great to see ya again, and in the flesh. Or, metal. My name's Rabbit, and I was the one who was with The Spine when we saw you on the battlefield. I was a boy, but I'm a girl now. I was always meant to be" she added.

"And a very pretty girl, I might add" she said. Rabbit giggled.

"Hello. My name is Hatchworth, and I was locked away until Peter Walter VI repaired me. Now, I like making sandwiches" Hatchworth said, introducing himself while holding a sandwich in his hand.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Hatchworth" she smiled.

"Last but not least, this is GG" Rabbit said, introducing the four-legged bot of the group.

"My name's GG!" GG said, waving a little hoof. Jingle took it and shook.

"Nice to meet you, GG. My name's Jingle. I see you've met Aranthur" she said. GG looked at Aranthur, who ran and hid behind Jingle's leg.

"It's okay, buddy. She's nice. They're all nice" she said. Aranthur looked up at her, and he craned his neck around her leg to get a look at the other robots. He looked at Hatchworth, then to Rabbit, and galloped over to hide behind her skirt. Rabbit looked down at him and placed a hand on his head, and as soon as she did, his eyes drifted closed as he leaned into her touch.

"Feeling better?" Jingle asked.

"Much better, thanks to Auntie Rabbit" he said. Rabbit looked down at him and smirked.

"Oh, so I'm Auntie Rabbit?" she asked, abruptly scooping him up in her arms. He squealed as she tickled his belly, giggling as his legs flailing around and curled inward to protect his ticklish belly. They all joined in on his laughter, Rabbit snuggling against him. He threw his little hooves around her neck and snuggled against her cheek.

"Aranthur loves you, Auntie Rabbit, Uncle Spine and Uncle Hatchie! You too, Grandpa Peter!" he said, looking at each of them.

"Aww! We love you too, little Aranthur! Oh, you're so cute!" Rabbit exclaimed, giggling as she bounced in place.

"Well it seems like Rabbit has taken a liking to the little fellow" Hatchworth said.

"Indeed she has" The Spine said. While the two bots watched Rabbit hop around with Aranthur in her arms, Jingle payed attention to GG, who simply stared. Although it wasn't obvious, Jingle got the feeling that GG could be a little jealous. She seemed to watch how Rabbit held Aranthur, and she could see the hidden sadness in her little blue orbs. It hurt Jingle to see GG or anyone like that, so she decided to try and do something about it.

"Hi there, GG. Wanna go for an airplane ride with me?" she asked. GG crossed her arms and turned her head to the side, snorting in distaste.

"No. That's only for babies like Aranthur" she said. Jingle smirked and dove forward, sliding her arms under GG's forelegs and lifting her up in the air. GG squirmed in protest as she began to spin around, but soon she was giggling in glee.

"How about now?" Jingle asked.

"Lift me higher!" GG exclaimed, lifting her little hooves in the air. Jingle complied, and she smiled as she watched GG so happy. She spun her around a few more times, and then lowered her down to eye level. Suddenly, she heard a bleating noise, and she turned to see Aranthur reaching out to her from his spot in Rabbit's arms.

"Aranthur wants to be an airplane too! Lift Aranthur up, mama!" he cried, wiggling his little hooves as he squirmed in place. Jingle placed GG down and scooped Aranthur up out of Rabbit's arms and into her own. As GG made her way over to Rabbit, Jingle pulled Aranthur close to her.

"My little baby, oh I love you so much" she said. He nuzzled into her neck.

"If you don't mind, I have some work to do. I'll see you all later" Peter said, and left. Hatchworth left to the kitchen, but not before waving goodbye to Jingle and giving Aranthur a pat on the head.

"Say, Jingle, have you seen the garden yet?" The Spine asked. She shook her head.

"No, I haven't. I didn't even know you had one" she said.

"We do. Would you like to see it?" he asked.

"Sure. I haven't seen a garden in a long time" she said.

"Rabbit, would you like to come with us?" he asked. Rabbit shook her head.

"No, I p-p-promised GG we'd go have some ice cr-cr-cr-cream. You two go ahead and have fun though!" she said, and scooped up GG in her arms (no pun intended) before she too left to the kitchen. This left The Spine alone with Jingle and Aranthur.

"This way, ma'am" he said, gesturing toward a doorway near the back. He stepped outside and peered in, waiting for them to follow. Aranthur hopped out of her arms and practically ran outside the house.

"Aranthur!" she yelled, chasing after him. She didn't know, however, that there was a small depression in the ground right after stepping outside, and she tumbled forward. Luckily, The Spine was there to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Oops. I might've forgotten to mention that. Stepping down from the steps, the ground has to kind of try and support our weight" he said. Her eyes widened, and she placed her hands on her hips.

"My weight? Are you calling me fat?" she asked.

"No, I just meant you're heavy" he said.

"Heavy!?" she asked, appalled.

"No, th…that's not what I…" he sputtered, but stopped as she began to laugh.

"I'm just messing with you" she said, trying to stifle a giggle but failing miserably.

"Wha…" he trailed off, and she laughed before walking away.

'What was that about…I've never tripped over my words as bad as that before…' he thought to himself. After wiping away the beads of condensation that had begun to gather on his brow, he pressed on, taking a few strides to catch up to her. As he walked by her side, she couldn't help but peak over at him before smiling. He took on a stern look, but he thought that she was cute when she smiled. He cleared his throat, suddenly taken aback by his thoughts.

'Where did those come from?' he wondered.

"Something wrong?" she asked. He looked at her worried expression and shook his head.

"No, not at all. Oh, and you shouldn't worry about Aranthur, he'll be fine" he quickly added, changing the subject.

"I hope so. He can get into trouble" she said.

"I'm sure he'll find us when he tires himself out. But in the meantime, perhaps we should remain here, so that he can see us when he decides to come back" The Spine said. She shrugged.

"I suppose so" she mumbled, sitting down on a nearby bench. He sat next to her, reaching over and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"He'll be fine" he said, reassuring her. She looked at him for a moment before smiling and giving a small nod. He turned and faced forward, and the two were enveloped in a bit of afternoon silence.

"You aren't a Walter" he suddenly said.

"Way to state the obvious" she said.

"No, I mean…if you're not a Walter, that means you were built by someone else. Mind if I ask who?" he questioned.

"My inventor was named Aranthur Larentia, and he built me back in the year 769" she said.

"As in A.D.?" he asked.

"Well, no…more like B.C.…" she trailed off.

"That's over 2,000 years. You mean to tell me you're over 2,000 years old?" he asked.

"2,784 years, to be exact" she piped in.

"Well, that's quite the accomplishment, seeing as how you somehow managed to remain in a good condition for that many years" he said.

"Well, I was sorta in shutdown mode for quite a long time. I was pretty much only awake for about a day before I woke up in some sort of large box in the Roman Empire, where I met the Emperor and returned to my hometown of Etruria. I was there dor quite a bit of years, but then I was chased out by the current Emperor of the time until I stumbled upon the city of Pompeii where I was buried under ash at the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Then, I was dug up by Hydra, where I awoke to meet James Barnes and Steve Rodgers. I joined them in the war effort, and before I knew it I ended up retiring by being stowed away in a giant sarcophagus-type box. Then I woke up and eventually stayed with Tony Stark until the day Peter found me and brought me here with all of you" she said. She turned to look at him, and she found that his mouth was agape with incredulity. As soon as he realized this, he straightened up and cleared his throat.

"That is quite the ordeal, madam" he said.

"Well, I suppose it is once you say it that way" she said, rubbing the side of her arm. He took her hand, halting the movement as he looked at her.

"But yet, you don't look a day older than 100" he said. She smiled. Suddenly, Aranthur came running up to them.

"Mama! The garden is so pretty! Aranthur wants to go explore, but Aranthur is scared he might get lost" he said, his ears rotating downward.

"Would you like me to show you around? I do know my way around the garden" The Spine said, offering his services to the little giraffe.

"Yeah! Mama, can Aranthur go with Uncle Spine?" Aranthur asked, bouncing in place.

"Yes you can" she said, smiling.

"Would you like to come with us?" The Spine asked.

"No thanks. I need to clear my head, and I think this fresh air will do quite nicely" she said. The Spine nodded, and then turned to Aranthur to offer his hand. Aranthur wrapped his hooves on The Spine's cuff and swing up into his arm, climbing up to sit on his shoulders.

"Bye, mama! Let's go" he said. The Spine held his gaze upon her for a moment longer before turning and walking through the garden.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a bit of a short chapter, but I haven't updated it for quite some time, so there ya go.

Jingle watched them walk away, and she sighed before she leaned back against the bench. She figured she could relax and wait. Yet, it appeared this wasn't to be. A large wave of blue energy swept across the area, but it appeared the only thing it affected were not the trees or the grass, but her.

The energy caused her to core to vibrate and send her body into shutdown mode, and she slumped unconscious as her mind blacked out.

All was dark, when suddenly a small blue fleck broke the blackness. It grew in shape until it gained the form a cube, pulsing and glowing with bright blue energy.

She reached out to touch the cube, when suddenly there was a bright blinding light that caused her world to spin and fade to black once again.

A flash of a large volcano in the distance, the stinging scent of hot vapor and ash filling her nostrils. This what what Jingle experienced before she found herself reliving the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Bracing herself against the pure heat of the eruption, she sunk down to one knee as ash clouded her filter. She hunched over, placing her balled-up on the ground as her other arm rested on her knee. She closed her eyes, and her vision swirled and became muddy, transforming into darkness. She found herself unable to move, her body remaining still in the crouched form she had taken during the eruption. Gathering up her energy, she pushed as hard as she could to either side of her, and the darkness immediately gave way to her strength. Throwing herself forward, she ended up crashing through some sort of clay barrier and falling forward onto the recently-revealed floor. Picking herself up, she found herself in the center of some sort of plaza.

"La statua di "signora metal"!" someone exclaimed. Looking around, she saw that there was an entire crowd of people, and that she was surrounded by countless Roman-looking artifacts.

"Where am I? What's going on?" she yelled. She was greeted by blank faces, and she figured that no one understood her, until one person from the crowd stepped forward. This man appeared to be in his late 50's, and he had a beard up to his collarbone that was slowly turning from a dark color to white with age.

"Signora, mi hai capito?" (Ma'am, do you understand me?) the person, or man, asked. She shook her head in response.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand" she said.

"You speak English! It has been a long time since anyone of English has been here in Italia!" the man declared.

"Where am I? Who are you?" she asked.

"My, what a lot of questions. This is the city of Firenze, Italia! Or in your tongue, Florence, Italy. My name is Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci" he said.

"Florence. Italy. Da Vinci. Got it" she said, grinning at Da Vinci who sternly looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Come with me. I shall introduce you to some friends of mine" he said, reaching out and offering her his hand. She took it, and her photoreceptors briefly rested on a mark burned into the back of his hand.

What she didn't know was that this would be the the most important symbol of her life. As they walked down the street, she found that the next time she looked down at the strange octopus-like symbol on Da Vinci's hand, she suddenly felt a strong blow to the back of her head, and her world went dark...

...a small and steady beep...

...strange voices...

...brights lights...

...opening her eyes, she found herself strapped to some sort of metal table, in the exact same spot where she was when she met Bucky. She found a strange man and Da Vinci standing above her as they tried to open up her chassis to no avail. Da Vinci realized she was awake, and grinned as he scribbled down something into a notebook.

"Hello, my dear" he said.

"Da Vinci? What's going on? Where are we?" she asked. He grinned.

"That's not important. All that matters is that you be a good little girl and follow our orders" he said. She frowned, and as he tried to pry open her chassis again, she grabbed onto the thing closest to her, Da Vinci's right hand, and crushed it, shattering bone. He cried out, clutching his hand to his chest. She glared at him, and she watched as he grabbed a pair of forceps and began to bring it closer and closer to her eye. Suddenly, she felt a blinding pain in her socket, and she watched with her good eye as her other was practically wrenched out of its socket, attached only by a cable. The pain was too much to bear, and she passed out. Suddenly, she found herself waking up in the exact same spot, but the only person around her was Bucky, who was strapped to a table nearby.

She jumped in place, and opened her eyes to find herself sitting on the bench of Walter Manor.

"So that's how I got there…" she said. As she sat outside on the bench, she found an incoming call in her central wireless interface. Answering it, she found it was a call from Steve.

"Greetings, Captain!" she said, grinning in her mind's eye.

"Hi Jingle. Listen, I have to go away for a while. I know we said we'd chat tonight over the internet, but this is kinda important. I'll contact you when I can. Love ya, kid" he said.

"Love you too, Capitan" she said as he ended the connection. Sitting on the bench, she drummed her fingers on the bench for a while before she suddenly stood up.

She made her way down the long path in the garden, quickly turning her head left and right, back and forth, looking for the flash and glimmer of silver that signaled the presence of The Spine and Aranthur.

Her keen photoreceptors saw nothing, and she began to quicken her pace until the trees, bushed and flowers all transformed into a quick and colorful blur, the world around her spinning and flying by at lightning speed, her gaze flitting from one place to another until suddenly she felt herself slam into something hard.

She fell onto her backside, and she closed her eyes as she rubbed her lower back as she looked up. It was there that she found The Spine towering above her, with Aranthur on his shoulder.

"We found you, Mama" Aranthur said as The Spine took Jingle's hand and helped her up onto her feet.

"We returned back to the bench to find you, and you weren't there, so we figured we'd come looking for you here" The Spine explained.

"I needed to speak to you. May I?" she asked. He nodded.

"Aranthur, sweetie, won't you go play for a bit? I need to speak to Uncle Spine" she said. Aranthur nodded and hopped off the tall automaton's shoulder to run to a small distance away.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" he asked. She placed her hands behind her and looked down at the ground, kicking the tip of one her boots against the ground.

"I have to go away for a bit. Unfortunately I don't know what it entails, and I don't want to put Aranthur in any type of danger. I was wondering if maybe you wouldn't mind taking care of him until I came back" she said.

"Yes, of course. I'll gladly watch over him" he said.

"Oh, thank you!" she said, breaking out into a grin and throwing her arms around him.

"You're quite welcome" he said, smiling as he returned her hug. They let go of each other, and she called Aranthur back, watching him as he trotted back to her with a smile on his face. She knelt down on her knees and gave a small smile to him before scooping him up in her arms.

"Aranthur, honey, mama has to go now. But I promise I will be back as soon as I can" she said. The smile on his face fell, and his ears drooped down before he threw his little hooves around her neck, crying out.

"Don't leave Aranthur, mama! Aranthur will miss you!" he cried.

"Hey, hey. There there, look, while I'm gone, Uncle Spine is going to take care of you. So be a good boy for him, okay?" she asked, petting his back. He backed away, sniffling as he nodded.

"Aranthur will try, mama. Aranthur will be good. Aranthur loves you" he said.

"That's a good boy. I love you too" she said, giving him a kiss on the forehead before standing up. She smiled at The Spine, and then turned and ran into the house.

"Be safe" The Spine whispered.


End file.
